Looking for Love
by skygirl55
Summary: "For the first time ever Looking for Love will feature a celebrity bachelor…author Richard Castle!" Caskett AU #castleficathon2018 entry
1. Chapter 1

**Looking for Love**

"For the first time ever Looking for Love will feature a celebrity bachelor…author Richard Castle!" Caskett AU #castleficathon2018 entry

12 Chapter + Epilogue

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Gazing at his reflection in the dressing room mirror, Richard Castle combed his fingers back through his hair, trying to make sure it was fluffed just right. The hairdresser had combed it too flat for his taste, and though she'd dubbed it to be perfect, if he was going to be seen on national television he had to make sure it was just right. If it wasn't, he was sure to hear about it both in the press and from his mother and daughter, though the latter two were the only opinions he cared about.

"Well, Richard, if I'd known you looked this good in television makeup I would have insisted you wear it more often."

Castle spun around to face the smirk of his publisher-slash-ex-wife and matched her expression easily. "Very funny, Gina."

"I'm serious." She strolled forward and dusted her hand across the lapel of his black suit jacket. "You look good."

"Good enough to have a dozen women fawning over me in barely more than an hour?"

"I'd say so." She straightened his black silk tie, and then took a step back to scan him head to toe. Once satisfied with his appearance, she bobbed her head. "You ready for all this?"

A blip of laughter escaped his lips. "Bit too late for me to say no, isn't it?"

"Indeed, but please feel free to answer honestly."

He exhaled heavily as he turned back around and picked up the red rose seated on the table in front of him. After pinning it to his lapel, he turned back around and gave her his classic for-the-press smile. "Well, who wouldn't want to fall in love with twelve women selected at random while on national television?"

She scoffed. "Please. Like your playboy heart isn't loving this."

"Playboy heart…yeah, something like that," he muttered before gazing around the room to see where he'd dropped his water bottle. He found it slumped over against the back of the loveseat in the cramped room. Taking two steps forward, he snagged it, then brought it to his lips to finish off what remained of the liquid.

By the time he tossed it into the trashcan, Gina was at his side again. "I know you're still hesitant about the cameras, but you'll soon forget about them, I'm sure."

He arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Forget that they're watching me every second of every day? Doubtful."

"Well then," she smiled and pressed her hands flat against his chest, "if you must: remind yourself about that half-million-dollar check that's not resting comfortably in your bank account. Not to mention the new readers and thus book sales this publicity will bring in. I'm telling you, Richard, Storm's swan song will be one for the record books."

"As long as your happy, Gina. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some of my last camera-free moments by myself."

She leaned in, kissed his cheek lightly, brushed her thumb over the spot and then said genuinely, "Good luck, Richard."

After bidding her goodbye, Castle walked into the small adjoining bathroom in his dressing room and used the facilities. As he washed his hands, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and realized that he…well, didn't look like himself. Yes, the foundation makeup and other products altered his appearance by erasing blemishes and freckles and making everything seem smooth, but it was more than that. The part of himself he didn't recognize was below the surface.

What the hell had he been thinking when he let Gina talk him into a reality dating show?

Actually—he hadn't been thinking; he had been drinking. And perhaps doing a bit of wallowing. He'd been in a vulnerable place and she, being his former spouse, knew exactly what buttons to push. Ultimately, he'd agreed to get her to stop badgering him and go away. He'd regretted it the next day, which surely would have been enough time to back out, but then he hadn't wanted to deal with her negative reaction and merely figured it would be five weeks out of his life; how bad could it possibly be?

Truth be told, there was certainly a point in his past when simultaneously dating twelve women (and getting paid to do it!) would have sounded like the best thing ever, but those days were long gone. While they might have briefly returned after his first divorce, after his second failed marriage he was certainly looking for something more serious than a television show could provide. He didn't believe it was impossible for him to find love on the show, simply unlikely.

Upon hearing a knock at the door to his dressing room, Castle stepped out of the bathroom and called out, "Yes? Come in," loud enough to be heard through the door. One of the perky female PA's he'd previously met poked her head in the door and said, "Twenty minutes until call time, Mr. Castle."

"Thank you," he said to her. She nodded and inadvertently caused the headset to fall down over her eyes. She scrambled with it for a moment before slipping out the door, leaving Castle with a smile at the amusing display.

Taking a seat on the couch, he decided he was taking this entire situation far too seriously. Would he find his third wife in the next five weeks? Most likely not, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he needed a change and being the bachelor on the tenth season of _Looking for Love_ would certainly be it.

After finalizing his divorce a year prior, Castle had sat down to do what he did best: write another tale featuring his fictional golden goose, Derrick Storm. He quickly found, however, that writing Storm had lost its luster. Thus, he'd made the decision to kill off his leading man and turn his attention to a new story and a new character that would reinvigorate his passion for crafting stories. Unfortunately, that new character remained elusive to date.

Instead of writing, Castle had spent most of the prior five months sleeping in, playing video games, and surfing the internet. To his mother, daughter, and publishers, he insisted it was all under the guise of research, though none of them believed him. He really had thought that after a few weeks of rest, his brain would concoct a new and exciting idea. Then, as time wore on, and that didn't happen, he grew concerned that maybe his talent with the written word had withered away and maybe he wouldn't be able to write any more best-sellers.

Though it may have been slightly irrational, that fear was part of the reason he agreed to the reality show. He hoped the whirlwind trip through a variety of picturesque Caribbean locations would get his creative juices flowing. Or, a least, give him ideas for future scenes in future books…if only he had a new character—or a new muse to inspire him.

Grumbling to himself, he stood from the couch and walked over to the mini-fridge to snag a soda. He took a few sips and tried to push away the stomach-clenching thoughts of his future career out of his mind. He needed to put that concern on the back burner for the moment and focus instead of the new task he would soon face: meeting and remembering the name of twelve beautiful women.

Well, he supposed, there were worst things he could do with a Friday evening. Worst things indeed.

* * *

"Okay, Miss Kate; you're all set," the makeup artist, Paulo, informed her with one more swipe of a brush over he left cheekbone. "Now try not to smudge. Remember: dab, don't wipe if you cry."

"Ah, thanks; I'll remember." Kate Beckett forced a polite smile as Paulo departed, though she new there was approximately zero percent chance of her crying that evening. She had never been a fan of public crying and when "public" in this case meant a production crew plus the three and a half (give or take) million viewers at home, she certainly intended to keep herself in check—not that she was overly concerned. When it came to crying, she generally only did so out of sadness or frustration, and she did not anticipate any extreme emotions other than annoyance that evening.

"Oh, wow, Kate—you look gorgeous!" A passing production assistant said to her while giving a dramatic thumbs up.

She muttered out a thank you before gripping the arms of her chair until her knuckles began to turn while. She couldn't delay it any longer; she had to turn around and look at herself and she was already bracing for the worst. She'd seen how much heavy-duty makeup they'd plastered onto her face. For the cameras and lights, they'd told her. She understood and had been well aware that television, movie, and theatre makeup was always far more aggressive than everyday-wear makeup, but she still struggled with the concept that she was actually there, about to appear on a TV show. A TV dating show, no less.

"I am going to kill you, Lanie," she muttered to herself for the tenth time since her plane landed in Miami, where the first episode of _Looking for Love_ was being filmed.

Blowing out a breath through her lips, Kate spun around in her seat, and tried not to let out an audible gasp at what she saw. The person in the mirror before her was undoubtedly gorgeous, but it also, most definitely, was not her. They'd dyed her maroon-toned hair back to brown (admittedly, the maroon had been a mistake, but this brown was nearly black; it was too dark). Her eyebrows had been filled in using a dark pencil and the fake eyelashes they'd glued on her face looked borderline absurd. Of all that they'd done, the only thing she liked were the lips. Though she never would have used such a siren-red tone, she thought it looked good and made a mental note to have Lanie help her pick out a similar shade once she was back home.

"Oh boy…" She sighed out to herself after a full minute of taken it all in. Though she had suspected it before, now she knew for certain: this was going to be a long five weeks. Assuming she made it that long. Hell, just that evening was going to feel so long it would probably feel like five weeks! God, she was such a fool for letting Lanie talk her into this!

Even three months after the fact Kate still wasn't sure what had made her agree to Lanie's suggestion she make an audition video for the show. True, the night had involved far too much wine, but even that wasn't an excuse. Everything her good friend had said to her had been completely accurate. Kate's love life had been in a funk ever since she broke up with her FBI beau Will Sorensen the prior year. Though she dated here and there, her luck seemed non-existent. Most nights, she didn't mind that. She had never been one to need a man at her side and her job was more than fulfilling. Still, waking up alone every morning had begun to wear on her which was why she'd given in to Lanie's pushes, figuring there would be no real harm in it.

 _Right_.

It was particularly stupid of her, the daughter of two lawyers, not to read any of the fine print before submitting her audition video. Somewhat in her defense, she figured there was a less than one percent chance of being chosen. In fact, being selected never once entered her mind; she thought of the whole thing as a goof. Then, much to her horror, three weeks later she received an email stating that she was a finalist and that she needed to submit some more information. She politely declined, asking to be removed from consideration, and only then was informed that by submitting her video she was contractually obligated to continue with the show if selected. At that point, she panicked, and contacted her father, but after reading over the legal verbiage she provided him, he agreed she had no choice but to continue with the show, lest she face a lawsuit.

"Oh c'mon, Kate; how bad could it possibly be?" her friend Lanie had asked in-between bouts of hysterical laughter once Kate confided in her that she had been chosen for the show. When Kate had arrived in Miami and stepped into the hotel ballroom where the other eleven women were congregated her worst fears had been confirmed; it was worse than she ever imagined it could be.

Her fellow contestants all seemed unbelievably thrilled to be there, vying for the attention and devotion of an unknown man. In that respect, Kate was the outlier, but it was more than just that. Though she had no official confirmation, from a visual sweep alone she determined herself to be one of the oldest in the group if not the oldest. Though normally she was from the "age is just a number" camp, she feared she wouldn't have that much in common with women who appeared barely old enough to drink (legally). Seeing as they were in a competition, she doubted they needed to be best friends, but they would be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks.

Then again, there was always her backup plan. If the bachelor seemed too undesirable to her or if the whole experience was beginning to feel more torturous than tolerable, Kate had known all along what she would do: act like a total asshole. Surely, that would result in the unknown bachelor sending her packing. True, it wouldn't stop her coworkers from teasing her or even perhaps people recognizing her on the streets, but it would be better than suffering. If and when she had to enact such a plan remained to be seen. As she had promised Lanie, she was determined to at least get through the first night with an open mind. After that, she would assess.

"Okay, ladies. Gather 'round, please."

Upon hearing the director's announcement, Kate stood, and tip-toed her way towards the front of the ballroom while balancing in sky-high red stilettos. She gathered with the other eleven women and waited patiently for whatever instructions she was about to receive.

"Now is everybody excited?" the man asked. All the women but Kate cheered; she fought to roll her eyes. "Excellent!" he continued. "We're about one hour until show time, which means I can finally reveal to you that this season—our tenth season—we're doing something extra special. For the first time ever _Looking for Love_ will feature a celebrity bachelor!"

The group erupted into squeals while Kate groaned and fought the urge to cover her face with her hands. A celebrity bachelor?! God—it was getting worse!

"I'm sure you'd all like to know who this celebrity will be, right?" the director teased. After receiving encouragement from the crowd, he announced, "This season, the bachelor will be… author Richard Castle!"

While the group seemed largely baffled, Kate actually felt her face flush. So the man for whose attention she would be vying was not an arrogant actor—or a washed up one. He was instead one of her favorite authors; a man she'd met once before, though she very much doubted he would remember as it was during one of his very popular signing events several years earlier. That changed things, didn't it?

Kate let both of her hands settle over her stomach as it began to flutter with nerves. She shut her eyes and quietly cursed herself. Being nervous was positively absurd. What, at best, could come from their time together? She could probably have a nice meal with him and maybe (oh god) he would try to kiss her after. Other than that? Nothing. She couldn't even tell him what she'd wanted to and been unable during the book signing about how much his books meant to her because even though they would (presumably) have some alone time to talk, that time would be filmed by cameras and thus they would not truly be alone and she had no interest in sharing such sentiments with the world.

Still, with Richard Castle as the bachelor she had to admit to being moderately more interested in the experience than she had been before. At the very least, she would have some very good stories to tell Lanie when she got back home. As for what happened in between now and then, she would just have to see.

* * *

 **A/N** : First and foremost I must thank Dee, Joan, Lou, & Lindsey on twitter for their prompt/conversation that inspired this story - and everyone else who enthusiastically contributed/encouraged me

I'd also like to say that I absolutely despise the show The Bachelor and have only watched 1 season of it because i think its kind of gross. This being said I really did enjoy the challenge of putting KB & RC in this environment and I hope you enjoy it too!

Also thanks to Travis for the cover art!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Castle groaned and lifted his head towards the dark sky. He arched his back and tried to alleviate the tension in his low spine to no avail. Instead he merely twisted his torso side to side a few times in a futile attempt to lessen the persistent ache. Then, he picked up his right foot, rolled the ankle a few times, and repeated the process with his left. Simply put: he was very uncomfortable.

When the producers had explained the meet-and-greet process to him, it had all sounded perfectly reasonable: stand on the sidewalk, greet each woman, usher them into the house they were using for filming, and repeat the process eleven more times. He had expected the whole thing to take half an hour, tops. Sadly, his guess was a vast underestimate.

As he had never been this involved in a television production before, he failed to take into account the lighting and camera set up that needed to take place. Then, of course, there was the human component. One girl tripped on her heels while approaching him, so they had to start over. Another missed her mark and was halfway off the screen as thy said hello, so they needed to redo. Several said nonsensical things or muttered their words to softly for the microphones to hear. Once, even he was at fault for coughing while trying to introduce himself.

Adding to Castle's discomfort during this situation was the fact that he was forced to stand on a walkway paved unevenly with river rocks. While it was an aesthetically pleasing feature, it left the surface uneven, and thus difficult to stand on, particularly in his ultra-shiny (though not entirely comfortable) dress shoes. Thus, when the producer informed him that the last woman was approaching, he couldn't help but saying aloud, "Thank god." Upon receiving a strange look from the man, Castle quickly recovered and said, "I mean—I can't wait to get inside and really talk to all these beautiful women."

"Right. Well let's reset everyone. The last woman is named Kate, Mr. Castle."

"Kate. Okay. Kate." He repeated to himself to make sure he would say her name smoothly. He mentally hoped the woman did not trip or stutter her words so they could get the last one in one shot without having to re-do it.

Facing the long driveway of the home, he saw the headlights of the limousine approaching and plastered his Richard Castle, Novelist smile across his face. The car pulled around the curved driveway and the driver stepped out to open the back door. Castle caught the glimpse of a red heel followed by a slender leg as the woman climbed out of the car. As she stood, he found that she, unsurprisingly, looked more or less like all the others, wearing their unofficial uniform of a knee-length black dress. He supposed that all the dresses were of slightly different styles, but to him they blurred together into one generic dress. The only difference in the women being their hair, eye, and skin colors.

As Kate approached, she combed her chin-length dark brown hair from her face, and Castle found himself almost taken aback by her beauty. Though all the women he'd met that evening were attractive, this one—Kate—seemed head and shoulders above the rest. Her gorgeous red lips and strong cheekbones could be seen from his position several feet away, but as she approached he locked gazes with her and instantly felt his mouth dry up for her eyes told a fascinating tale. The gorgeous hazel rimmed with black liner displayed curiosity and perhaps a bit of nerves, but deep down a veil sadness that made him want to pull her aside, sit down in a quiet space, and ask her for her story.

Castle's mesmerized state evaporated the moment Kate stumbled before him, her heels wobbling on the river rock. Thankfully, he was just two feet from her, so he reached out, grabbed her forearms and steadied her. "Whoa, are you okay?"

"Uh, yes. Hi," Kate said, a bit flustered, though she managed to right herself from the bobble.

He slid his hands back until he could close both of his around her right and said. "Hi, yourself. I'm Rick."

"Kate," she responded, giving his hand a soft squeeze.

"Kate. It's lovely to meet you, Kate." He released her hand and she took a half step back.

"It's nice to meet you too."

As he had done with all the other women, he gestured towards the front of the house and said, "Go ahead inside; I'll be in shortly." She gave a polite nod and he watched her go until she'd stepped inside the house. Then, he turned around to look at the crew. "Do we have to do that again since she almost fell?"

The director considered a moment and then said, "No, I liked it; it was sweet. We're done here."

Castle resisted the urge to cheer aloud, and instead followed the crew back towards his dressing room trailer, which was parked several hundred feet away down the drive. Once inside, he collapsed down onto the closest chair and groaned at the release of tension in his back. Only when he heard a laugh did he realize he wasn't alone. His head jerked up and he saw Gina perched on a chair in the corner.

"If you're this exhausted after filming one scene, you're in for a rude awakening Richard."

"I'm not exhausted," he retorted. "My back is killing me from standing on those ridiculous stones. Who picked that location, anyway? Half the women stumbled in their heels."

Gina merely shrugged. "Any of them stand out to you? Or was it all just a blur of makeup and hairspray."

He opened his mouth to make a comment about the suitcase full of makeup she used to store in his bathroom, but then thought better of it. Instead, he reviewed the dozen new women in his mind and came to one strong conclusion. "Yeah—the last one; Kate. She's…intriguing."

Gina almost laughed. "Intriguing? You did barely more than shake her hand."

"Yeah…but there's just something about her. I can tell."

Gina sighed, stood from her chair, and walked over him. "Well, since they're about to kick me out of here, let me at least give you some parting words of advice: play along, put on a good show, and, for the love of god, whatever you do _don't_ have sex on camera."

His brow wrinkled with confusion. "They wouldn't allow that…would they?"

"Well not _on_ _camera_ , but don't you remember the scandal a few seasons ago?"

He blinked at her. "Gina, you lived with me; you know I've never watched his show."

"I've seen Martha watching it a few times. Anyway—a few seasons ago a bachelor and one of the women snuck off into the darkness somewhere and fooled around—with their mics still on."

Castle laughed. "Well, that won't be a problem. I promised Alexis I'd keep everything PG-13 so she wouldn't face the backlash from her friends at school."

Gina nodded then gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Good luck, Richard."

"Yeah…" he sighed as she left. "Thanks…"

* * *

Standing out on the balcony, with the cool ocean breeze combing through her hair, Kate shut her eyes and cradled her mostly-empty wine glass close to her chest. Between the eleven women plus the famous writer, the camera and production crews, and all the cameras and lights, the interior of the estate they filmed at had quickly grown stifling. In addition to the temperature being very warm, she felt she could hardly move without being blocked by a man holding a boom mic or needing to tip-toe delicately so as not to trip over electrical extension cords. Thankfully, the balcony overlooking the swimming pool filled back yard was a permittable escape point and she took it at the first opportunity.

For the prior two hours, after receiving her formal introduction to Richard Castle, had been filled with an equal amount of interesting and awkward moments. After the women were corralled into the expansive first floor living area, which included the kitchen, a dining area, and a large seating area with overstuff couches and chairs, they were informed that Rick would be joining them for a cocktail even that would last approximately two hours, during which he would mingle with the group. They were permitted to have one-on-one encounters, but they could not last for more than five minutes at a time.

At this last rule, Kate rolled her eyes. So that's how this was going to go. Have fun, mingle, get to know each other—but only as long as you followed the rules of the show, all in an effort to create the best production possible. She understood the need for some sort of arrangement so one or two women did not monopolize the entire two-hour window, but five minutes did seem quite stringent. Then again, she reminded herself, she wasn't there to fall in love anyway.

When the man of the hour joined them twenty minutes later, he was immediately swamped by half a dozen of the bolder women, while Kate and a few of the others remained in the seating area, sipping wine and chatting amongst themselves. Every now and then Kate would casually glance over at the group pawing at Rick's arms and torso, and a realization hit her. She'd been so shocked by the fact the "celebrity bachelor" was not a washed-up actor but a man she actually found interesting that she had momentarily forgotten about his reputation as a bit of a womanizer. Watching him smile flirtatiously at the cluster of blondes around him brought that recollection screaming back.

With that notion in her mind, Kate watched him subtly for the next twenty minutes and found it interesting that while the women were all over him, his hands were mostly on his drink, in his pockets, or gesturing as he spoke. He didn't appear to be touching them in a way that would have been deemed either appropriate or inappropriate. If anything, his body language indicated he was a bit uncomfortable with their proximity, particularly since he continually moved around the kitchen and dining area, only to have the women follow him like a swarm of bees.

Perhaps, Kate thought carefully, Rick's reputation as a womanizer was mostly a fabrication of Page Six. True, he was on a dating show, but that did not mean his attitude would be disrespectful, or he would encourage her to do something she was uncomfortable with (like make out with him in front of the cameras). Or, he could be just as much as a scoundrel as the press made him sound to be in the wake of his divorce. She would get to the bottom of it eventually, she was sure.

Though Rick finally escaped his hoard of blondes and joined the other women in the sitting area, he was quickly drawn into a heated conversation about the red wine he was drinking. Evidently, one of the women, Mackenzie, managed a winery and the writer fancied himself quite the connoisseur. It was shortly thereafter that Kate chose to make her escape to the balcony, both for cooler temperatures and to give herself a moment to relax her face since she knew for certain the camera would not be pointed directly at it.

"Phew—it is much cooler out here. Looks like you had the right idea, Kate."

She smiled to herself but didn't turnaround when she heard Rick's voice. She couldn't say she was entirely disappointed that he followed her, but it was annoying that the cameras had probably joined him. "Though a bit of a breeze would be nice."

"Indeed." He stepped up beside her and leaned his hands against the railing. He was quiet a minute then asked, "Can I refresh your drink?"

She shook her head and tightened her grip on the goblet. "I'm fine, thanks." Considering the glass she was handed easily could have been classified as two servings, she didn't need to have another and risk being the woman who got tipsy on the first night of the show.

"Sorry I've been pretty busy tonight, but I didn't want the evening to end without having a chance to say hello to you."

He smiled flirtatiously at her, but she didn't take any of the bait. Keeping herself as guarded as ever, she merely gave a polite smile and tried to ignore the cameraman who was now barely two feet from her left side.

"So, Kate, tell me what it is that you do when you're not here enjoying wine and the view."

"I'm a homicide detective."

"Wha—wow. Seriously?"

"Why do you sound surprised?" she responded when his eyes widened and his jaw fell somewhere towards the middle of his chest.

She had been fully prepared to go on defensive mode, but he surprised her, by gushing, "Because that's amazing and impressive! Thank you for your service."

"Ah, yeah—I mean sure. Thanks," she said a bit awkwardly, her face flushing with slight embarrassment; thank goodness it was mostly dark outside!

"Are you from a family of cops?"

"Of lawyers."

"And you didn't follow the same path?"

She shrugged one shoulder and turned back towards the edge of the balcony. Having no interest in revealing anything too personal to a near stranger (not to mention the viewers at home) she replied with an evasive, "Just wanted to do something different…"

He moved a bit closer to her and leaned his forearms near where her left hand sat on the railing. "Fair enough. Tell me more about yourself."

As talking about herself was one of her least favorite pastimes, she evaded the question by saying, "Oh…I'm not that interesting…"

"I vehemently disagree."

Surprised by the conviction in his tone, Kate turned to him and found herself blushing again in the reflection of his grin. So this was why the press dubbed him a womanizer; he certainly did know how to charm. "Um, I don't know." She dusted her right fingers over her brow and confessed, "I actually work a lot of hours so…"

"Well I'm sure whatever city you live in is appreciative of that."

"New York; I live in New York," she told him. Before going on the show, she had expressed concern to the producers she was in contact with about her safety when she was back on the job. As it was customary for contestants to reveal the city and state in which they lived, the producers agreed to keep her last name from appearing publicly. This was already not an uncommon practice, but they agreed to make sure it was kept secret for which she was very grateful.

At this information, the writer's expression brightened even more. "Well look at that—something we have in common. I-"

"Rick! Come back in here!"

Their conversation was interrupted by one of the women calling out from inside the house.

"C'mon Rick!" called another. "We want you to have one more drink with us."

He turned back to Kate with a dopey half smile. "Well, I guess I should-"

"Don't worry about it," she promised, waving her hand at him casually.

He smiled, then reached out to give her closest forearm a friendly squeeze. "I'll talk to you again later, Kate." Then, with that, he returned to the inside of the house leaving Kate on the balcony curious as to how the next few days would go.

* * *

 **A/N:** thank you all so much for your reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Two days after beginning her stint on _Looking for Love_ , Kate sat on a million-dollar yacht floating in the Caribbean Sea in a state of near disbelief. As she had been almost completely unfamiliar with the show before Lanie talked her into the audition tape, Kate was not aware how high-end her experiences would be. Of course she did not anticipate the show putting up contestants in Motel 6's, but the private jet to the island resort and expensive yacht definitely exceeded her expectations.

The prior day after a 'get to know each other' luncheon, the group participated in their first rose ceremony, during which Rick had ten roses to pass out among the twelve women, meaning two of them would be leaving the show. Though before she arrived in Miami Kate had been insistent she did not care if she lasted one week or eight on the show (and, honestly, if given the choice, she would have picked the former), she did find herself growing nervous halfway through the ceremony when her name had yet to be called.

Fortunately, she did not have to worry for too much longer, because she received the seventh rose. In the end, a woman named Jamie and another named Megan was sent home, the later of which Kate recognized as one of the handsy blondes from the prior night. After they tearfully parted ways, it was announced that they would be departing for the Virgin Islands that night and the following day would be spent "at sea" but Kate hadn't known what type of vessel they would be traveling on until showing up at the dock and being shocked by the sprawling yacht.

After having brunch with mimosas together, they were allowed to split up and do whatever they wanted on the boat while Rick mingled. Kate sat on the sun deck for a while with some of the other women, but quickly found herself being overheated by the Caribbean sun both beating down on her and reflecting up off the water. Half an hour earlier she'd retreated to the shade and pulled a book out of her tote bag. Though a few of the girls had chuckled when they saw her pack the novel, Kate was glad she had, for she could only converse about nail and hair salons for so long. (Sadly, from what she was discovering, she did not have a lot in common with her fellow contestants, which considering they had all voluntarily joined a game show in which they tried to win a husband, she was not shocked.)

Every now and then Kate would look up from her book and gaze around the deck. The sunbathing women had turned over onto their stomachs since she left them, one of them escaping to the observation deck above. She hadn't seen Rick in a while (not that she was keeping tabs or anything) and figured he was either on the lower deck or inside with the rest of their group.

When she reached the end of the chapter she was reading, Kate dogeared the page, placed her book on her lounge chair, and then walked inside to use the small ship bathroom. As she washed her hands, she examined her reflection in the mirror, taking note that her eyeliner was smudged, presumably from sweat. Normally she wouldn't have minded, but she also did not want to be recorded on film looking like a raccoon, so she swiped under each eye with the edge of a tissue to clean up the mess. Then, she checked herself as best she could to make sure her bathing suit still covered her appropriately.

Prior to embarking on the trip, Kate had received notice that the show would be providing the majority of the wardrobe she would wear and that she only needed to pack nightwear, basic undergarments, some shoes, and whatever personal items would fit into one suitcase. As such, that morning Kate and the other ladies had been presented with an array of swimwear—all two-piece, she noted. After sorting through the ones in her size, Kate had chosen a navy halter top with a mesh insert across the chest and as full-coverage bottoms as she could find. She had no problem with her body and didn't want to hide it so much as she didn't feel the need to prance around in a top that barely covered more than her nipples, unlike some of the other women.

While making her way back to her lounge chair, Kate ascended a tight ship stairway and, due to sun glare, didn't realize that Rick stood at the top of it until she nearly walked into him. "Oh—I'm sorry," she said, quickly hopping out of his way.

He smiled easily. "No need to apologize. Actually, I was wondering where you'd snuck off too."

"Just the bathroom." She sidled past him and walked over to her lounge only to find that he followed. He sat on the end where her feet would go and tucked his sunglasses into the pocket of his white linen shirt that was only half buttoned. She smiled politely and moved her book to her lap, not sure what to say next, so she managed a bit awkwardly, "I was, ah, laying out there but then I got a little overheated from the sun."

"Ah yeah." He turned to gaze out towards the bow of the ship and then back to her. "It is piercing. Hope they're wearing sunscreen."

"Oh I'm sure they'll ask you to apply it if they're not," she half muttered, though intentionally said it loud enough for him to hear.

Evidently choosing to ignore the comment, he asked instead, "You ever been on a boat like this before?"

"Do the harbor ferries count?"

He chuckled. "Not at all."

"Then no."

"I have—once. Chartered a boat in the Hamptons for my family and me. My mother hated the wind and complained about it the whole time…but you are absolutely correct in that the sun here is much more intense, which was why I thought I might come and say hello to you."

She found herself smiling in his reflection. "Well, hello then."

His eyes twinkled in a way that made the hairs at the back of her neck prickle. "Hello. What are you reading?"

"Oh." She half laughed and flipped the book up so he could see the cover. "Just something they had at the airport; looked interesting."

"A mystery?"

"Mmhm."

He brought his leg up to tuck against his body as he leaned a bit closer to her. "So you like mysteries?"

"I do."

"Have you read mine?"

She had to laugh at his utter lack of subtly. "I have."

His grin widened until it stretched across his entire face. "Really? I have to tell you, Kate, that is exciting news—not just because I appreciate all my readers, because I do, but because evidently you're the only person here that has."

"Ah…" She nodded, trying not to let her face show that she had figured as much, but evidently she failed, because that was his next statement.

"You knew?"

She shook her head. "No confirmation, but I figured since, um." She glanced sideways at the camera a few feet away, and then leaned in a bit closer and confessed, "They told us your name before we met you, and it didn't seem like anyone knew who you were."

He gave a knowing nod. "Well thank you for your honesty…and I suppose I can't say I'm surprised." He sighed and glanced out towards the sunbathing bikini-wearers once more. Turning back to her he admitted, "I'm not a total idiot. I know that women under twenty-five aren't my target audience, but I was really, really beginning to feel old."

Kate laughed a little louder than she probably should have, but she was so taken aback by the descriptor. "You're not old, Rick; not even close."

He leaned towards her and whispered, "One of these women is still in college!"

Again, she laughed. Poking at his shoulder, she added, "Then it sounds to me like you should be-"

Before she could remind him to chastise the producers for matching him with someone fifteen years his junior, her statement was interrupted by a scream and a thud coming from the opposite end of the deck. Both Kate and Rick scrambled out of their seats to find one of the girls, Kristi, if Kate was not mistaken, sprawled out on the deck of the boat clutching her head.

"What happened?" Rick asked loudly.

"She was climbing down that ladder and slipped, I think," one of the girls quickly explained.

Kate glanced up to see the ladder leading to the upper observation deck and then crouched down beside Kristi, whose forehead was now streaked with crimson.

"'m fine, I-"

"No—don't move." Kate gingerly placed a hand on each of the shoulders of the girl who was trying to sit up. She could feel the adrenaline begin to course through her veins as she assessed the situation, and the injured girl. "Your head is bleeding; you could be seriously injured. Can someone get the first aid kit? And the captain?"

"Oh my god," one of the women cried out, sounding slightly hysterical. "Are you a doctor?"

"A cop," Kate replied, still scanning her eyes over Kristi. She then lifted her head and gazed around at the audience which now, much to her annoyance, included both camera crews. "Is anyone here in the medical field?" She was met with a chorus of negative answers, which meant her emergency NYPD training made her the most qualified one to deal with the situation.

"Kristi, how do you feel? Do you have pain in your head or neck?"

Looking as nonplussed as ever, Kristi once again tried to sit up, though Kate held her down. "I'm fine. Really. I—is that blood?" she squeaked out after glancing at the hand that had just swept across her brow.

"Yes."

"Oh my god," Kristi continued, now clearly tearful. "Am I dying?"

"Wha—no." Kate insisted, trying not to roll her eyes. From the smell of her breath, Kate wondered if Kristi hadn't found something a bit more serious to drink than a mimosa since they embarked on their trip—and if that substance hadn't contributed to her lack of balance at least in some way. "You're not dying, Kristi, but I am worried about your head."

"It feels fine—honestly. I—oh! Rick! Hi Rick!"

Kate turned her head when the girl began to squeal and caught sight of the writer approaching with the large, white first aid kit. "Hi Kristi. How are you feeling?"

"Fine! Great! I—"

"No, no," Rick placed his hand firmly on her shoulder while Kate rummaged through the first aid kit. "You'd better keep laying here for a few more minutes."

"Will you sit with me?"

"Of course."

Now wearing rubber gloves, Kate stepped over Kristi's torso and crouched down by the injured girl's head. She didn't want to have Kristi roll her neck at all for fear she could have cracked some of her vertebra with the impact, but the position in which she landed made it very difficult for Kate to assess the injury. As a result, she practically had to stand on her head to see the gash just at the edge of Kristi's hair line. She pressed a piece of gauze against the spot and then lifted her head to brush back a chunk of hair that had fallen into her mouth as a result of her awkward position.

Now upright and gazing around the ship, Kate realized for the first time that she was the central focus of not only all the other women on board, but Rick, plus two camera men, the sound guy, and the approaching captain. _Great_.

"Hey, um, can we get some space here? Please?" She requested while shooting Rick a pleading look. Thankfully, he picked up on the move, and hopped to his feet, gently shooing some of the women away.

"C'mon guys, why don't you give Kristi some breathing room, okay?" he said, guiding two of the women towards the chaise he and Kate had abandoned.

Counting on him to keep the audience at a minimum, Kate turned towards the captain, who stood above them looking rather concerned. "She fell off the ladder and hit her head. I didn't see how she fell and I'm concerned about a neck injury. How far are we from land?"

"'bout two hours," the captain said.

Before Kate could say another word, one of the producers pushed his way in front of the captain and said in a hushed voice, "We're not scheduled to turn back for over an hour."

Kate gave him an incredulous look. "She could be injured!"

"She seems fine. How do you feel, Kristi?"

She giggled. "Great! Let's party."

When the producer gave her a pointed look, Kate had to channel all her police training to keep a calm exterior. Huffing out a breath, she rocked back on her heels and reached for Kristi's left hand. She then slapped it atop the gauze and said, "At least hold that down until the bleeding stops." Then she stood, whipped off her rubber gloves, and climbed back into the interior of the boat in hopes of avoiding the cameras.

Frustrated from the situation, Kate began pacing back and forth in the tight sitting room until she found herself face to face with Rick who asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah—I didn't fall off a ladder onto a hard boat deck," she replied flippantly and then immediately regretted her words. "Sorry, I-"

"Don't apologize. You're stressed; I understand." He then offered a soft smile and gestured for her to sit on one of the nearby couches. Since the cameras were, for once, not in sight, she took him up on the offer. Then, he sat beside her. "Thank you for taking control of the situation like that. I'm sure Kristi appreciated it." She shot him a side-look and he quickly added, "Well, she should have appreciated it."

"Yeah." Sighing out, she rested her forearms on her thighs and let her head hang. "Hard to turn off the cop instinct, you know?"

"Nor should you; it was very impressive."

His words sounded genuine, which took her by slight surprise. She lifted her head and found her heartrate strangely lowering in the reflection of his soft blue eyes.

"Forgive me if I'm over-stepping, but I imagine your frustration is due to the fact that you don't agree with the call the producers made out there."

She shrugged and opted for a generic, emotionless response. "I'm not a doctor."

"But you have training in dealing with emergencies."

Shaking her head a little, Kate gave in to Rick's calm persistence. "She's probably fine. She didn't seem disoriented and wasn't crying out in pain…."

"But…" he led after she was silent for a moment.

She gazed over at him. "Head and neck injuries can be sneaky, and if we were back in New York I would have strongly suggested she lay still and in a neck brace until the EMTs cleared her. She should at least see a doctor once we're back on land—that cut on her head might even need stitched; I didn't get a good look at—oh." Her voice fell flat when she noticed one of the camera men scrambling into the room so he didn't miss any of their conversation.

Not missing a beat, Rick reached over and patted her arm. "I'll see what I can do," he said just above a whisper. Then, louder, he added, "Thanks again for your help Kate; we're all very lucky you're here." With that, he flashed her a smile and stood from the couch.

When Rick began to make his way back to the boat deck, Kate was surprised when the camera didn't follow him. Instead, a producer asked if she was ready to do an on-camera interview regarding the incident. She quickly insisted she needed to go and wash her hands, but really it was just an excuse to take a moment to breathe and try to figure out what had her more flustered: the "talking head" style interview or the way her heart fluttered in response to Rick's ear-to-ear grin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Standing by the bar with the music pulsing so loud he felt the reverberations inside his chest, Castle gazed out onto the dancefloor at the cluster of gyrating women. He took another pull from his beer and tried to shake away the weariness tugging at him from behind his eyes; it certainly had been one hell of a day.

After the yacht returned to shore, the group was allowed a several hour reprieve before their next event: a nine-to-midnight dance party at a local club. Wisely, Rick took a brief nap and awoke feeling reasonably refreshed. When his dinner was delivered to his suite, he inquired about Kristi's condition, since she had decided to go to the hospital after he and the other women helped convince her that, at the very least, the gash on her forehead needed examined. He was informed that she needed stitches and had a mild concussion, but an x-ray of her neck showed no serious injury. As a result, she would be sitting out that evening's event so he quickly scribbled out a note full of well-wishes and gave it to a PA to be delivered.

Thoughts of Kristi's injury caused Castle to think about Kate, which immediately brought a smile to his face. From the brief interaction he'd had with her previously, he had undoubtedly found her interesting, but now, after seeing her in action, he was certain she was one of the more extraordinary people he'd ever met. The way she jumped in to help without ever being asked to do so could have been explained away by calling it the instinct she'd gained after years of training; however, the way she acted after the producers had effectively overruled her was what told him the most about her.

Kate had a big heart. She cared for others in a way that was lost on most. She had barely known Kristi more than two days, yet Kate clearly wanted her potential injury treated delicately. The fact that it was not treated as such clearly upset her. Seeing that brief glimpse of who he believed she truly was, spoke volumes to Castle. He imagined her as an exemplary detective who worked tirelessly to bring justice to the victims she encountered, which was both refreshing and reassuring as a citizen of the city in which she worked.

Over the prior fifteen years of his professional writing career, Castle had interviewed many people for research, law enforcement professionals included. Each individual he spoke with had always struck him as a hard-working, dedicated person, but always in a methodical or clinical way. He could not recall a single one that has as much heart as Kate. Perhaps he was seeing things that weren't really there, because he already had such a fondness for her even after just a few hours in her presence, but Castle didn't think so. She was special, and he most definitely wanted to learn more about her.

As the music thumped around him, Castle made his way from the bar up to the small balcony overlooking the dance floor. The club was closed that evening for the filming of their show, so other than the loud music, the atmosphere was pretty tame, particularly considering there was only ten of them (plus the crew), but Castle didn't mind. His days of clubbing-'til-dawn had long since passed.

When he ascended the stairs, he was pleased to see the Kate stood alone against the balcony railing. Perfect. Of course a camera man had followed him so they weren't truly alone, but it was alone as they would get that evening, so he decided to jump at the opportunity. He approached her slowly, trying to think of something more interesting to say than just, "Hello," and, when it hit him, he stepped up behind her.

"Waiting for the DJ to play your song?"

Despite the loud noise, he heard her laugh, and his heart fluttered. "Something like that," she said back to him, though they both had to practically yell to be heard over the music.

"Do you have a favorite place in New York?"

"What?"

"A favorite place like this? Or aren't you much for clubbing?"

She shook he head. "I'm not, actually. Never was and ever since making detective I work a lot of nights so the only time I'm coming to a place like this is to arrest someone…or to look at a body in a dumpster. Sorry."

"For what?" when she partly covered her face with her hand after apologizing to him.

She leaned in closer and said, "My friends usually get mad if I mention bodies in…social settings."

Castle laughed when he learned how unnecessary her apology had been. "Kate, please. You've read my work; you've got to know a little bit of macabre doesn't bother me. Actually, quite the opposite!" He leaned in closer to her and continued. "I'd be very interested to-"

"Rick!"

Castle's conversation with Kate was cut short by the loud shriek of his name. Turning towards the sound, he saw two women clambering up the balcony stairs. Clearly, both had made ample use of that evening's open bar.

"Rick! Why are you hiding? Come dance with us!"

"Well actually I—oh…sorry!" he called out to Kate when the women grabbed onto his arms and dragged him forcibly towards the stairs. When he reached the bottom and saw one of the producers grinning at him from behind the cameras, he realized that the women had probably been encouraged to interrupt his time with Kate, which, frankly, he found rather annoying.

Knowing he had no choice, he put on a good face and joined the five women in the center of the dance floor. Though he'd hoped for a fun, dancing atmosphere, he quickly found himself at the center of what felt like a bump-and-grind assault. Five pairs of hands groped at his chest, arms, and stomach. They took turns in front of him, gyrating and thrusting their breasts at him to the point where one seemed to almost be shoving another aside to get his attention. It was borderline ridiculous!

As one woman's hand grazed the front of his crotch he was forced to twist his hips to prevent it from happening again. In that moment, a terrible realization hit him: he was getting old; so very old.

While he considered each of the women beautiful, and he had no problem admiring their breasts or asses in whatever tight clothing they were, all of them at once—plus the loud music—was overwhelming and not at all interesting to him. He longed for quiet, meaningful conversation over wine and perhaps a meal. Of course dancing could be fun as a post-dinner activity, but like this? How the hell was he supposed to get to know any of them when he could barely hear himself think? How was he supposed to separate one from the other when they'd merged into one gyrating body? He didn't even know whose hand was trying to feel up his crotch!

"Excuse me—hang on a second there ladies. Excuse me!"

It took him the better part of two minutes to escape the groping hands and the women pressing their bodies up against his. The group let out a collective groan when he finally escaped and stumbled his way off the raised dancefloor. The camera made to follow him, but he raised up his hand to halt their progress and then pointed towards the men's bathroom. He didn't even really need to use the facilities, but still lingered in the camera-free space for several minutes, trying his best to ignore how badly his ears were ringing.

Back out in the club, Castle made a b-line for the closest producer and requested that the constant pulsating techno music take a brief hiatus. The producer argued, but he countered with, "But wouldn't it be nice if I could slow dance with a few of the women?"

Thankfully, the producer agreed, and Castle knew the exact woman he wanted to dance with first.

He found Kate at the bar nursing a beer. Glancing to his left, he saw that the balcony stairway was now blocked off, evidently forcing the women to stay down on the dancefloor and interact with one another. Frustrated with such a controlling act, Castle huffed out a breath, but then shook his head; he wouldn't let his irritation with the circumstances dampen his first dance with Kate.

"I have a feeling," he began as he stepped up behind her, "the DJ is going to be playing your song next."

She turned and arched an eyebrow at him. "Is that so?"

"It is. C'mon." He reached out for her hand and smiled when she took it. He pulled her past the clusters of other women, and the moment they stepped onto the dancefloor the techno music cut out and a slower song began to play. From what he could tell, it was sung by one of those young, up-and-coming kids he wasn't a hundred percent sold on yet, but it was certainly better than the electronic beat.

Castle slipped one arm around Kate's waist and pulled her body close as they began to sway. "Better, right?" he asked, knowing at the very least it was quieter.

She offered a small smile. "Yes, though I'm not sure I'd say this is my song."

He chuckled. "Fair enough. Sorry they kicked you off the balcony."

She gave him a rather embarrassed look. "You must think I'm such a stick-in-the-mud."

"What? No. Not at all."

"It's…the cameras…"

He nodded at her soft confession. "Believe me I get it—and I'm even slightly used to it."

"You've been famous a long time."

"Famous?" He swallowed a laugh at the seemingly incorrect statement. "In certain circles, I suppose. If the press does manage to track me down, I'm typically captured with still shots…somehow they're less embarrassing than recorded video."

She laughed. "I can only imagine."

"So," he began after a moment of silence and rhythmic swaying, "what kind of music do you prefer?"

"Oh…a variety, I guess."

"Techno?"

"No. Jazz. I like jazz concerts. Or singer-songwriter type stuff."

He smiled. "Quieter things." She nodded and bit down on her bottom lip, which made his heart flutter in his chest. Clearing his throat, he continued, "I'm with you there. I feel like such an old man because I like quieter things like singer-songwriter stuff…and showtunes—my mother's an actress, so I'm used to it I guess. Then my daughter brings home something new and I try to be a cool dad but sometimes—yikes."

"Don't worry; I'm sure our parents said the same thing about our music."

"You mean that dangerous rock and roll?" He asked; she smiled. "No, I know what you mean—but I'm not sure it makes it better."

She hummed and leaned her body in a little closer to his so that their heads were side to side. With her heels, their heights were nearly identical, though he was still slightly taller, so the move placed his lips just above the sharp slash of her cheekbone. Castle shut his eyes as they continued to sway. She settled against him and— _Oh_. There it was; the perfect spot. Her body fit against his so well, just like a perfectly-formed puzzle piece.

He nuzzled his nose against hers and his lips brushed ever so gently across her cheek, just to see how she'd react. He didn't feel her body tense nor did she pull back, nor did she didn't turn her head upwards so they could kiss properly. Though he was slightly disappointed as he would have loved to kiss her, just to see if it felt as amazing as he hoped it would, he also didn't see any need to rush. They still had weeks to get to know each other gradually, and something told him that Kate, the woman with eyes clouded in sadness, though she was slowly warming up to him, was definitely someone who appreciated gradual romance.

"My turn! My turn!'

Castle felt himself being pulled away from Kate by an enthusiastic brunette tugging at the sleeve of his shirt. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his dance partner before the new girl, Melanie, was locking her arms around his waist and forcing them to dance together. He fumbled for a moment, trying to clear his mind so he could focus on this new woman, but it was no use. Though Melanie was wrapped tightly around him, her bright expression central in his vision, his heart remained very much in the embrace of a woman named Kate.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Castle awoke on the seventh morning of his _Looking for Love_ adventure with a smile on his face. Considering how much they had traveled and how busy his days were, it was difficult to believe only one week had passed. Though he'd been wary at first, he had to admit he was having a surprising amount of fun—and not just because eight beautiful women were fawning over him practically non-stop. The travel and activities were quite enjoyable, and he only anticipated them becoming more exciting as trip went on.

The prior day had been a travel day which meant it was spent almost entirely away from the women. They had moved from the Virgin Islands to the Dominican Republic where they were staying on different floors of a large hotel. Due to the fact that he was not allowed to interact with the women outside of sanctioned, filmed events, Castle was sequestered to his room as soon as they arrived, which had been very boring for him, but he managed to get by knowing that day included zip lines, hiking, and, if he was not mistaken, the selection of the woman with whom he would go on his first one-on-one date; he couldn't wait!

As difficult as it had been two days prior when he cut their group from ten to eight by passing out roses, Castle felt comfortable with the choices he made. Yes, he was sad that the women cried when he failed to present them with a flower, but he accepted the process as his job as central focus of the show. He'd spent enough time with each of them to know they had no future together and while he imagined the one-per-week kickoffs would not get easier from that point forward, there were already a few standout women in his mind. One in particular.

By the time he'd forced himself from bed and showered, she show producers had arrived with his breakfast as well as to review that days' activities.

"The zipline tour will begin at eleven and it'll take the group about an hour to reach the lookout point. There, we'll take a few photographs with you and the ladies, and you'll have a little bit of time to mingle. Then, the zipline tour continues for about twenty minutes before you reach the end. We'll take a short break for lunch before reconvening for you to choose the first woman you'll be taking on a one-on-one date?"

"What's the date?" he asked. "Never mind—it doesn't matter; I'm definitely taking Kate."

The producers exchanged looks and said. "No; we'd prefer if you took another woman."

His brow wrinkled. "What? Why?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with Kate."

"So?"

One producer, a man named Greg, leaned in closer as he spoke to Castle. "The point of this show, Rick, is to keep the audience guessing. To make it seem as though all the women have your attention—that keeps it interesting."

Leaning back in his chair, Castle tossed the napkin he held down onto the table. "I thought the point of this show was for me to find love."

"Of course it is, but it is also a TV show."

Feeling progressively more irritated—a feeling he did not appreciate so early in the morning, particularly not while at a gorgeous resort in paradise—he snipped, "I see. So I can fall in love as long as it's entertaining for everyone else."

Greg exchanged looks with his colleague before turning to Castle once again. "How about this: pick whichever girl you want for this episode's solo date and then you can feel free to choose Kate for your next solo date."

Castle thought about arguing with the terminology as he felt anything but _free_ in that moment, but then thought better of it. "Fine, but I'm assuming you have a suggestion or two for my first solo date."

Greg smiled. "Well, of course you're free to choose anyone you want but—"

"Anyone but Kate," Castle threw in, unable to help himself.

"Right—anyone but Kate—but we feel that Kristi would be a good choice. We think the audience will be concerned about her after the injury she sustained on the yacht, so this will be a good way of checking in. And, to answer your earlier question, this date will be a helicopter ride to a remote section of beach where you'll have dinner tomorrow night."

Anxious to end their conversation he huffed out, "Yeah. Okay. Kristi; sounds good."

"Great! We'll be back in about an hour to pick you up."

After the producers left, Castle paced his hotel room while munching on the apple that came with his breakfast. To put it simply: he was very annoyed.

Yes, he had signed up for a television show, put his name on the dotted line of a contract, and accepted the money for his appearance on the show. Thus, he understood that he would have to play by the show's rules, as Gina had told him time and time again, but he hadn't realized they would be controlling this much of his experience! The locations and activities—sure; that made sense. But telling him who he could and could not take out on a date? What was the point of any of it then!

Mostly, his frustration stemmed from the bitterness of not being able to spend time with Kate like he'd hoped. She was far an above the most interesting woman on the show—far more interesting than Kristi. He supposed the latter woman would be interesting to someone, but that someone was not him. In fact, had she not injured herself on the boat, he probably would have not given her a rose two days prior, but seeing as her head was still bruised, he'd felt it too cruel not to give her a flower. However, assuming he saw no improvement in her childish-at-times attitude, he had every intent to leave her rose-less at the end of their time in the Dominican Republic. He supposed that was still a possibility—except he had to spend the evening with her first. _Great_.

At least, he thought positively, he still had a full day ahead of him, during which he hoped there would be time to spend with Kate. At least he had virtually guaranteed that within a few days they would be spending quality one-on-one time together, and that was definitely something to look forward to.

* * *

Standing in front of the full-length mirror in the make-shift curtained-off dressing room area, Kate turned her body side to side to examine her appearance. From the clothing selections that day she chose a white tank top with a long-sleeved sheer white tunic overtop and army-green cargo shorts along with the most rugged pair of shoes she could find in her size. Though she had walked many miles around the sidewalks of Manhattan, she had never before been on a zip-line tour and hike of a jungle area, and thus had very little to go on insofar as what might be appropriate to wear. Fortunately, the show handled most of that, and their selection of clothing for the women was largely similar, but she hoped she'd made a choice that was better served for protection from the elements than it was for fashion.

Grabbing the bag of clothing she'd taken off, Kate ducked out from behind the curtain and walked over to the large plastic bin with her name on it. She deposited her personal effects inside and then walked over to the refreshment table to get a small bottle of water to sip on while she waited for their jungle tour to begin. She then took a seat in the centrally located cluster of chairs and casually observed the other seven women in the room with her.

The show had taken over one of the hotel's small meeting rooms for their staging area for the episode they were filming in the Dominican Republic. One corner had three hair and makeup stations. The other corner had the changing areas. Their personal effects, snack area, and wardrobe area were spread out in between. For the most part, the women had been fairly busy getting ready, but now that that was nearly completed, the hum of chatter had returned to the room.

"You guys know Rick has to pick his first solo date by the end of the day today, right?" said a woman named Holly as she approached from the makeup chairs, where she'd had her face dusted with powder and her lips glossed to an almost mirror-like shine.

"Really?"

"Yeah; I saw the schedule and the first date is supposed to be tomorrow."

Kristi clicked her tongue with disapproval. "What's it even matter? We all know he's going to pick Kate."

At the sound of her name, the detective's ear's perked. "What?" She glanced around at the circle of women until her eyes fell on Kristi, who was glaring at her. For a reason Kate could not understand, ever since she'd tried to help her during the incident on the yacht, Kristi had treated her with a significant amount of distain. For the most part, Kate ignored her, not wanting to engage, but now it seemed she had no choice as the blonde woman approached her predatorially.

Folding her arms over her chest, she snipped, "Don't play dumb."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Please! It's so obvious. Rick talks to you _all_ the time. _So_ unfair…" she muttered under her breath.

Kate blinked, a little taken aback. Even if she hadn't been trying to actively avoid a confrontation with one of the other women, she still would have felt equally obligated to refute such a statement. "I really don't think he spends any more time with me than the rest of you."

"Of course he does!" Kristi blasted at her. Then she began to tick off reasons on her fingers. "He danced with you first—and longer than anyone else. Before the rose ceremony he wouldn't stop hovering around you-"

"But I was talking to Brooklyn and Maggie!" Kate insisted. It was true that Rick nudged his way into their conversation (not that she minded), but the three of them had already been mid-conversation when he showed up; he simply joined in.

"That's true; Rick was talking to the three of us," Maggie tried to defend, but it was clear Kristi was already on the war path.

"But the common denominator is Kate—it's always Kate!"

Knowing there was no way she would win the argument, Kate merely stood up and said, "I'm sorry you feel that way," before walking away from the group to end the argument. In her mind, she had just as much of a chance as any of them to be picked for the one-on-one date, which, frankly, she did not care all that much about.

When it came down to it, she would not have minded dinner and conversation with one of her favorite authors. In another setting, she might have even been excited about it, but that was not the setting in which she existed at that moment. Whatever illusion of privacy they would have on such a date would just be that—an illusion. The producers and director would still be orchestrating their moves and there would still be cameras everywhere. If Rick did choose her that afternoon, she would go on the date with him willingly (not that she had a choice), but she very much doubted it would be the magical event the others made it out to be.

"Don't listen to her."

Kate jumped at the sound of the unexpected voice behind her. Turning, she saw Mackenzie (though everyone called her Mac) standing behind her wearing a green cotton top and khaki shorts similar to hers. If Kate had been forced to choose a favorite of the remaining women, it would have unquestionably seemed Mac as she seemed the most sensible and personable of all the women, perhaps second only to Brooklyn, who was the stand-out kindest. Knowing this, Kate very much doubted Mac would continue Kristi's verbal assault, but she remained wary. "Excuse me?"

"Kristi; she's just jealous."

"I really couldn't care less what she thinks."

Mac gave a small smile as she folded her arms over her chest. "You shouldn't. We're all here for the same thing, right? I mean, only one woman is going to win this thing, and we all want that to be us. We wouldn't be here if we didn't. If we're going to win, we have to have Rick's attention, and, though I don't agree with her methods, Kristi is not entirely wrong. You do seem to be one of the women Rick favors, but there's nothing wrong with that. It only gives the rest of us more of a challenge."

Mac finished with a smile that Kate mirrored. With a breathy laugh she said, "Thanks."

With a playful nudge to her arm, Mac said, "No problem." Then, she walked off to rejoin the group of gossiping women.

* * *

"Okay ladies; here we are! Watch your step there. I can tell you're having fun. Such a beautiful day, right?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh as Rick enthusiastically greeted each of them when they disembarked the rope bridge they had crossed to reach the outlook point. If she hadn't known she was on camera, she might have rolled her eyes at his excessive joy. He certainly was having the time of his life that day—cracking jokes at every opportunity and making a big show of helping the women clip in and out of the zipline, even though they had all participated in a safety demonstration.

Once on the flat rocky area that provided uninterrupted views of the surrounding sea, Kate was actually surprised to see how small the space was. She wasn't sure what to expect, having never experienced something such as that before, but she certainly expected a bigger area than one that barely had enough space for the nine of them, plus the camera crew and director. As such, she did her best to stay out of the way while most of the women cooed over the view, and the staff set up the next few camera shots.

The director placed Rick at the corner of the outlook that had both views of the water and edges of the surrounding forest. He then informed the group that they would be taking still photographs of Rick with each of the women before clustering everyone together for a group shot. As the order was not specified, Kate hung back while the other women took turns going up and standing by Rick's side and putting their arms around his waist.

When it was Kristi's turn, she bounded up to him, chewing on her manicured nail and said, "I'm too short for us to stand side-by-side. Will you pick me up?"

"What?" Rick responded, half-laughing.

"Scoop me up for the picture—you know, like you're carrying me off into the sunset."

"But it's not sunset," Kate commented snidely under her breath. She knew it was wrong of her to show outward dislike for Kristi's cutesy damsel-in-distress behavior towards Rick, but it irritated her! She knew Kristi was far from the first woman to pull such an act, but as someone who wanted a man to appreciate her for her mind and heart, not for how far she could push her breasts up out of her tank top, the move grated on her. Then again, she supposed Kristi was not trying to date the same types of men she was—the present circumstance aside.

Holly, evidently taking a leaf out of Kristi's book, also requested that Rick scoop her up in the picture. When the director pointed to Kate next, she stepped forward cautiously, hoping Rick would instinctively go back to the original setup—the side-hug—but instead he turned to her with arms open asking, "You want in on this too?"

"No!" she responded reflexively. When she realized how harsh her tone sounded, she quickly backtracked with, "That's not necessary; I can just stand here." She stepped up beside him and put her arm around his back, hoping he would mirror her position since, in her mind, that was a more than appropriate way to take a photograph with a man she'd known a week.

Evidently, the director disagreed because he looked around the camera with an expression that made it seem as though they were flicking off the camera instead of smiling at it. "No! You two look like you don't even like each other! Pick her up too!"

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but Rick swooped in with, "How about this?" before she could. She remained frozen while he stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. When he gave her a little tug, pulling her back into the wall of his chest, she let out an "Oh!' of surprise, and instinctively placed her hands atop his. Though she wasn't entirely conscious of the fact that she was smiling, Kate realized she must have been when the director snapped a few photos and then waved to the next girl in line.

In somewhat of a haze, Kate walked over to the far side of the observation platform and leaned against the railing to wait until it was time for the group photo. When that was completed, she returned to her spot and gazed down towards the ground below. The outlook was on a rock outcropping high above the rocks and sand below—twenty or twenty-five feet, she imagined. While there was no doubt in her mind the outlook did provide a lovely view, she did wish it was easier to access, as traveling via zipline was probably not something she wished to do in the future—unless it was with harnesses that were better fitting. Or padded.

Kate had only been standing there a few minutes when from behind her she heard a flippant, "Oh, I don't know. I've seen prettier."

Chuckling at Rick's tone she glanced back over her shoulder and said, "I'm sure." Smiling, he stepped up beside her and leaned one hand against the railing. She gazed beyond him to check to see if the cameras were rolling, but they weren't. It appeared they were still switching around their equipment, thus enabling them a rare moment of unrecorded interaction.

Seeing an opportunity, Kate quietly said, "Sorry about before—with the picture. I didn't mean to make things awkward."

"Oh no—you didn't." He assured her. "I actually preferred our stance to the others if I'm being entirely honest. So did my shoulder," he said as he gave his right upper arm a rub with his left hand.

"Old injury?" she guessed.

"Ah, no—not really. I think I just must have wrenched it a bit when I was hanging on for dear life on that exhilarating ride through the jungle."

A breathy laugh escaped her lips. "So you're enjoying the zipline then?" she asked, knowing he could never be honest if he was on camera, but feeling that they were safe at that moment.

He gave a half smile. "Well, the views are pretty incredible, but it turns out I'm not a huge fan of being suspended high above the ground by only a tiny rope. Plus, those harnesses are a little tight in some places."

She laughed a bit louder before giving him a sympathetic look. Considering how uncomfortable she was, she could only imagine what a man felt like with the sharp edges of the harness biting into more sensitive areas. "Hate to break it to you, Rick, but there is more zip-lining to come."

He shot her a look. "Don't remind me." Before he could say another word, he was called away by the director, so he bid her goodbye and walked away. Once he was gone, Kate leaned against the railing and turned towards the ground to hide the soft smile on her face. Maybe being chosen to be Rick's date that evening wouldn't be bad at all; maybe it would even be fun.

* * *

 **A/N** : so glad you're all enjoying this fic! thank you so much for the reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Oh my god!" Kristi cooed when a waiter delivered a square plate topped with a delectable looking slice of coconut cream pie. She clutched her right hand to her chest and fanned her face with her left as though she were about to cry. She gazed across the table at her date, her eyes welling, as she said, "This night just keeps getting better and better!"

"Yeah." Castle managed to force a genuine smile on his face, though only by recalling the tricks he'd learned from that summer of acting classes his mother had forced him to take when he was fifteen.

Kristi picked up her fork, scooped up a bit of pie, and then placed it into her mouth with an unsettlingly sexual sounding, "Mmm! God its good!"

Turning towards the dessert in front of him (a bowl of fresh fruit topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream), Castle took a small bite of ice cream into his mouth, shut his eyes, and tried to remind himself that the arrival of dessert meant that the evening was finally drawing to a close.

 _Finally_.

To say that he was not having a good time on his date with Kristi would have been a grand understatement. He didn't want to say it was the worst date he had ever been on, but it fit well within the top (well, bottom) ten. As they were still continuously being filmed, he did his best to put on a good show and act like a gentleman, but that task grew progressively more difficult as the evening wore on.

"Oh—mm!" Kristi groaned again with another bite of pie. "It's so good, but it must have so many calories—I'm going to get so fat!"

"Well, you have to splurge now and then, right?"

"I guess. Here, try some."

When Kristi thrust a forkful of food into his face for the second time that evening, Castle tried not to recoil too obviously, for he was even less interested than when she'd tried to feed him some of her crab cake. "Oh, no thank you; I'm not a big fan of coconut."

She tilted her head and scrunched her nose. "Really?"

"Yeah never have been," he confessed. His distaste was actually the reason his dessert was so uninteresting; the caterers had to come up with a last-minute substitute, so he didn't have to eat something he hated for the sake of the camera.

"Well, there's no way I can eat it all; I'm stuffed already. This evening really has been amazing, Rick."

"Ah—yeah." He grunted when he felt her bare toes graze the inside of his left knee. Jesus, she just didn't quit, did she? Though he never expected to have such a thought, he silently thanked the existence of the cameras, for without them he feared Kristi might have suggested ocean skinny dipping or, hell, just outright stripped in front of him.

While the fact that she was throwing herself at him so aggressively was certainly a turn off, the fact of the matter was: Castle did not feel he had any chemistry whatsoever with Kristi. Her smile did not make him want to smile. Her laugh did not bring joy to his heart. And, after nearly three hours together he honestly wasn't sure what else to say to her since they seemed to have almost nothing in common. While, if pressed, he might have been able to squeeze out another half of our conversation, he simply didn't want to. Their interaction was difficult enough as it was, but as soon as Kristi told him she wasn't interested in having children she had drilled the nails into her own coffin in his mind, because he could not imagine a future without more children in his life.

Not wanting to say nothing and thus appear awkward or rude, Castle merely said, "I'm glad to hear you're having such a good time."

She reached across the table and stroked her fingers against the inside of his wrist and grinned, "I really, really am."

When the waiter returned to clear their dessert dishes, Castle felt his stomach clench. Their date was drawing to a close, which was certainly a relief, except for the fact that he needed to figure out a way to appropriately end their evening without upsetting her or coming across like an asshole. Given how touchy-feely she had been throughout their helicopter ride and the walk to their beachside table (not to mention how high her toes were now creeping against his thigh) it was obvious to him she wanted a kiss goodnight. He supposed this was a customary action on the show, but he also didn't want to lead her on, so he hoped he could get away with kissing her on the cheek and quickly escaping before she had a chance to corner him into something more intimate.

When the time came to depart, the duo walked hand-in-hand to their awaiting transportation. Castle slowed his walk in front of Kristi's car, and had just opened his mouth to wish her a good evening, when he suddenly found himself being outright smothered by her. She had jumped up, locked her arms around his neck, and vacuumed her lips over his. He'd managed to place his hands at her hips as an instinctual reaction, but he had zero faith that the kiss was anything of note, given that he was an unpleasant mixture of stunned and pissed off. She really was terrible at interpreting body language. Or, perhaps, she simply chose not to care.

"Thanks for an amazing night, Rick," she said in a sultry tone as she gave his belly a little scratch and then climbed into the awaiting vehicle. Being very mindful of the watching cameras, he waved her off as the car drove away and then climbed inside his vehicle and instantly covered his face with his hands. Thank god that was over!

Only when the car was moving again did Castle open his eyes to see that producer Greg had joined him for the ride back. He didn't even bother to hide his annoyance and simply said, "By the way—I'm not giving her a rose."

"Yes." Greg concluded, his tone clipped. "That much was obvious."

Castle arched his brow as his acting skills had always been suspect (something his mother never failed to point out to him). "Too obvious?"

Greg sighed audibly. "Don't worry; we'll fix it in editing."

"Good," the writer concluded. Then, he shut his eyes for the remainder of the journey back to the hotel.

* * *

"Kate—hey! Kate!"

The young detective lifted her head from the book she was reading to see Holly standing in the doorway of the bedroom they temporarily shared. At that point in the show, the eight remaining women were divided into to hotel suites across from one another. That evening while Kristi was on her date with Rick the rest of the women had free time and Kate had chosen to read in bed.

"Yeah?"

"Kristi's coming back from our date and they want all of us there when she returns."

"Oh. Okay." Kate dogeared the page in her book and then swung her legs off the side of the bed with the exact opposite of enthusiasm. As she felt a significant amount of weariness after that afternoon's event in the hot Dominican sun Kate had been grateful for the evening off, glad she didn't have to fake enthusiasm or have a smile plastered on her face. Shuffling across the hall, she simply hoped the scene would only last for a few minutes, but given that Kristi was to be the center of attention she probably should have known better.

The women were clustered around the main sitting area of the suite when Kristi walked in wearing her snug lime green dress. She stopped just inside the door, stared at them all for five seconds, and then let out a high-pitched squeal of joy. "Oh my god, guy! Oh my god!"

"Oh Kristi!" Brooklyn gushed as she rushed forward and pulled her into a hug. "How was it? Tell us everything!"

"Guys it was amazing! The helicopter ride! The meal! The _kiss_ ," Kristi added in a clearly dramatic manner.

"He kissed you?"

"Just once?"

"How was it!?"

As the other women fired off questions, Kate felt her stomach roll uncomfortably in her gut. While keeping the camera-ready smile on her face, she placed her hand atop her belly and rubbed it in small circles as the back of her neck prickled.

As Kristi gushed about moonlight and the soft feeling of Rick's lips, Kate felt her gut flip again and was immediately clutched with uncertainty.

Oh god was she _jealous_?

No—no! That was impossible! She in no way wanted to trade places with Kristi and to be faced with the pressure of being Rick's first solo date. Plus, did she really want her first kiss with a man—any man—to be filmed and broadcast on national television? Absolutely not!

The more Kristi's story went on and the women expressed their envy, Kate came to a realization: she wasn't jealous so much as she was generally uncomfortable; she felt awkward.

Never before had she experienced a situation in which she was not only knowingly dating a man other women were dating, but that she was openly discussing said relationship with said women. In real life, the mere concept was preposterous and virtually never would have happened outside a college dormitory—and even that was a stretch.

For the duration of her adult life Kate had applied the same private, reserved attitude she maintained with her personal life to every one of her relationships; she had never been one to kiss and tell. If she was dating someone seriously, she might tell her coworkers certain things about said person, but only conversational or perhaps funny details never intimate ones. While she couldn't say that she had never shared an intimate detail with one of her best friends, such an incident was rare—and with her _best friends_. In a room of practical strangers? She could not imagine a scenario in which such a conversation would take place—particularly not if it would be recorded on camera.

Sitting there, half-listening as Kristi recapped her date in almost painful detail, Kate realized something about being on a reality dating show she had not before. The longer she remained on the show, the odds of her having one-on-one time with Rick increased. If she was to have one-on-one time, it now became apparent that she would be required to talk about it with the group. Presumably the level of detail she shared would be up to her (or would it?) but she would have to talk about some of it and that thought made her very uncomfortable.

When she was finally permitted to return to her room, Kate lay in bed and considered her options. She could revert back to what she considered her "emergency stop button": she could turn into a total asshole in the hopes of getting herself kicked off quickly. But was that what she really wanted? Making a three-hundred-sixty-degree change in her personality seemed an extreme option, especially considering her interactions with Rick to that point were…nice.

Er, fine—they were fine.

She hesitated to call the interactions anything more than fine simply because she wasn't sure how real they were. Rick was interesting and fun, but the cameras were almost always around, thus it was hard to tell if he was genuine, or putting on an act, just as she had been earlier that evening as Kristi blathered on about every piece of food served to them during dinner.

If they had been back in New York and able to interact with each other normally, she might have felt different about him, but such interaction wasn't possible and would not be possible. Even if she was chosen for a solo date, the cameras would still be on them, which was frustrating.

In the end Kate decided there was no need for her to act unpleasant when simply acting disinterested would hopefully yield the same results. She wouldn't be openly rude to anyone, but she also would not go out of her way to engage. Then, hopefully, within a few episodes she would be sent home and then her life could finally return to normal.

* * *

"Good evening everyone and welcome to the rose ceremony," _Looking for Love_ host Harrison Christopher said into the camera as eight women and one man stood behind him smiling. "As was announced earlier in the show, the next destination on our Caribbean tour will be Turks and Caicos but sadly not everyone will be joining us. Rick, you have seven roses in front of you. Are you ready?"

"I am," he confirmed with a nod. Then, he picked up the first flower and turned towards the octet of women. He twirled the flower between his fingers for a moment before saying, "Holly, will you accept this rose?"

Holly stepped forward, took the flower graciously and said, "Yes of course; thank you, Rick!"

As she did during all the rose ceremonies, Kate struggled to remain standing in a neutral position without shifting her feet or altering the neutral smile on he face, the latter being the most difficult. As was the nature of the production, the doling out of roses dragged on far longer than necessary as Rick was required to look pensive after presenting each and every flower.

When the pile on the table dwindled from three to two, Kate began to grow curious, wondering if she would receive the next flower, but instead it went to Mac, meaning that she and Kristi were the remaining two women who had not yet received roses.

 _Great_.

"Kate, Kristi, please step forward," Harrison instructed them, and Kate fought the urge to groan. Evidently they had reached the point in the show were the drama was ramped up to level ten, and she imagined that when this episode aired some sort of video montage would be played to add to the tension. Just what she wanted—more screen time.

When she and Kristi stood side-by-side several feet away from Rick, Harrison spoke to each of them in turn. "Kate, this week you and Rick had some laughs on the zip-line tour, and Kristi, you and Rick had your first date—and your first kiss. Now, one of you will be leaving us for good."

Kate felt her heart flutter in her chest at the host's words and she felt immediately confused by the feeling. Was she—did she feel upset about the prospect of going home? No—no of course not. Returning to her normal life was what she wanted. She wanted to be back in New York with the sounds and smells of the city. She wanted to be ridding the streets of criminals not flying through the treetops looking a birds and flowers. And, okay, so maybe she did feel a certain happiness when Rick smiled at her, but that was merely the magic of the situation. Who wouldn't feel the slightest bit swept up by private jets and expensive champagne? But none of it was real.

Glancing to her left, Kate caught Kristi's eye and half expected the younger woman to be wearing an unbearably smug expression. Such confidence would not have surprised Kate at all given how she gushed about their date, but that's not what she saw. Instead of arrogance, Kate saw uncertainty and that was…interesting.

Kate felt her lips curling upwards, but tried desperately to fight it. This was supposed to be a serious moment! Yet she couldn't help but feel a little bit proud that she had been the one to knock Kristi down from her high horse, especially since the younger woman had treated her with such unnecessary rudeness.

Though it was a struggle, Kate tried to push such thoughts away as quickly as they had arrived. It had been explained to them during the first episode that the order in which they received roses had absolutely no significance whatsoever. Rick informed those in charge who he would _not_ be giving a rose to before the ceremony began and other than that person needing to be in the final grouping, the rest of the order was randomized by a computer. Thus, it wasn't as though Rick was choosing between Kate and Kristi in that moment. The person he was not inviting to join them in Turks and Caicos had already been chosen and the other was simply the victim of a computer program.

After what felt like five minutes of silence, Rick finally picked up the final rose and stepped forward. He looked at each woman in turn before saying, "This decision was very difficult for me. You are both incredible women, but in the end, I had to go with my gut so… Kate-"

Despite the fact that she told herself she didn't care about going home, Kate's heart still bounded up into her throat when she heard her name on Rick's lips.

"—will you please accept this rose?"

Kate stepped forward and reached out her hand for the flower. Rick closed both of his hands around hers as she took it, and the smile he wore made the hairs at the back of her neck prickle. "Y-yes," she managed with a bit of a stammer. "Thank you."

Kate then whipped around, purposefully avoiding Kristi's eye contact, and quickly returned to her spot among the flower-bearing women while Rick spoke to the jilted woman kindly.

"I'm sorry, Kristi. You're such a sweet girl, but I just don't think we have that much in common. You're bound to find someone better for you than me—it probably won't even be hard."

"O-okay," Kristi managed tearfully before she was quickly ushered off the set by Harrison. When he returned, he carried a tray with eight champagne flutes which he passed around to the group.

Once they were all clustered together holding their glasses, Harrison said, "Now let's all toast to the next leg of our journey!"

Kate lifted her glass, tapped it against the others, and let out a heavy exhale. Three episodes were now complete, but unfortunately she had no way of knowing how many more she would be around to film.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Kate let out a sigh of relief when she felt the cool breeze of the air-conditioning dusting her face and arms. Though she had already showered and changed, she still felt overheated and longed for the cold air to regulate her body temperature back to normal. Whoever knew a TV dating show could be so physically exhausting?

The prior day after their morning flight from the Dominican Republic to one of the Turk Islands in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, they had some time to themselves to unpack before a group dinner was held to celebrate the commencement of their fourth episode of _Looking for Love_. During that meal they learned the plan for the following day during which they would have a "fun team event" in the morning followed by a solo date for one of them with Rick in the afternoon. It was not until that morning that they learned their fun team event would actually be a slightly competitive game of soccer or football as they called it outside of the United States.

As she needed to be active for per profession, Kate had no trouble with physical exertion, even when it included a bit of friendly competition (in fact, she might have even preferred it that way). When they first arrived at the grassy location just off one of the island's gorgeous beaches, the sun had been slightly hidden behind intermittent clouds. The day was warm, but the sea breeze was nice, so their one-on-one scrimmages were actually rather fun. Then, seemingly instantly, the clouds evaporated, the temperature rose, and they were all soon baking in the shade-free area.

Given that they were still being filmed and the director was continually encouraging them up, the girls continued to play while Rick, the goalkeeper, struggled to keep his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose due to his heavy sweating. Finally, after one of the girls simply lay down on the grass and refuse to get up (though it seemed overly dramatic, Kate couldn't say she blamed her), the director agreed to throw in the towel, but not before one last round where all seven women tried to score goals around Rick. By that point, he seemed too heat exhausted to do much blocking, so all but one of the balls slipped into the net. The one he caught was kicked by Brooklyn, who promptly jumped into his arms in celebration. Kate initially found this odd, as Rick catching her ball technically meant she lost, but then she realized Brooklyn's ulterior motive: while in his arms, she planted a big kiss on a rather stunned-looking Rick's lips.

After they were shuttled back to the spacious beach-front house at which they were sequestered, the women took their turns in the home's three bathrooms, and then more or less collapsed on whatever soft surface was closest. They chatted for a bit about how ridiculous their alleged "fun" event had been, and then some of them took naps while others, like Kate, simply lay there trying to regulate their body heat. When she felt a rumble in her stomach, Kate knew she would soon need to go in search of a snack to tide her over until their dinner, but she didn't feel like moving—not quite yet.

She as she shut her eyes and considered a fifteen-minute cat-nap, the household peace was interrupted by the chiming of the doorbell. A groan rose through the crowd of women until they were scolded by Brooklyn, who stood by the kitchen clutching a water bottle. "Guys! Have you forgotten about Rick's solo date tonight? I bet that's the producers telling us to get ready for the big reveal."

While Brooklyn ran to answer the door, some of the women stirred from their positions of relaxation, but not Kate. She had all but forgotten about the other piece of the show that would take place that day and as she fully believed not to be involved in it, she decided to wait until the last minute to be forced away from her comfortable spot.

"Okay ladies—who's ready to find out about tonight's solo date?" The director announced with far too much enthusiasm as he entered their beachside home. Giving up on the idea of her nap, Kate sat up and waited for further instructions.

Evidently, the director liked the idea of the women lounging around only to be interrupted by the arrival of Rick's invitation, so once the cameras were in place, he asked them to reset their positions and once again had Brooklyn open the door, only that time she returned with a large pink envelope labeled, "Solo Date #2"

"Oh my gosh, guys—who wants to open it?" Brooklyn gushed as she held the object in her hands as though it was formed from 24-Carat gold.

"Well you're holding it—you should just go ahead," Mac encouraged.

With trembling fingers, Brooklyn popped open the envelope flap and said, "Okay, there's a smaller envelope inside and—Oh." Her voice fell flat when she pulled it out. "It's for Kate."

"Wha-" Kate croaked at the sound of her own name as she had never expected it. "I…" She tried to think of something to say, but no words came out, so instead Brooklyn merely thrust the envelope in her face and she took it with a meek, "Thank you."

"Open it and read it aloud," Mac said.

Kate glanced at each woman tentatively before doing as requested. Inside the white envelope was a handwritten note presumably scrawled by Rick himself. Unfolding it fully, she read, "Kate, please join me tonight for dinner and an evening stroll where perhaps we will both discover something magical."

"Oh my gosh—so romantic!" another woman, Sasha, gushed.

"Congratulations, Kate," Mac added.

"Ah…yeah. I guess…I guess I should go get ready, huh?" She folded the letter back up and stood from the couch, immediately fighting the urge to groan from the way her tired body still ached. She was directed towards the stairway, which she began to ascend, but as soon as the director told her the cameras were no longer filming, she walked back down and followed the crew out to the driveway, where the hair and makeup trailers were parked.

As she walked, Kate still felt rather stunned by the fact that she had been selected, particularly since she and Rick had barely spoken that day at all. Come to think of it, they hadn't spoken much at all since arriving on that island, as he had been quite preoccupied by other women at the prior nights' dinner. As such, Kate thought Rick's interest in her was beginning to fade, but perhaps she had misinterpreted. Perhaps he had wanted to spend time with her, but never found the right moment, and thus he was asking her to dinner. She doubted she would ever really know the real reason, but that didn't matter; she had a one-on-one date to prepare for.

Immediately upon entering the trailer, Kate was offered an iced coffee, for which she had never been more grateful. As she sipped, the wardrobe crew led her to a rack of dresses, asking her to pick one before they did her hair and makeup, so they could plan accordingly. Sifting through the five choices provided Kate found that each dress could be classified as light, flowy, and fun. As these descriptors did not generally fit her personal style, she struggled for a few minutes before ultimately selecting a lemon-yellow knee-length dress with big, colorful flowers printed all over. It was far from her usual style, but it did seem perfect for dinner and a stroll through an island town.

 _Dinner alone with Rick_.

Kate considered the notion carefully as her face was painted and her hair styled. On one hand, it was certainly exciting as he was a very interesting gentleman—not to mention one of her favorite authors. Weighing out, however, was the other side, which was deeply entrenched with terror. Being alone with Rick didn't scare her but being the central focus of that evening's camera crew did.

Though she had been filming the show for well over a week Kate never felt that she was the central focus of the show. True, once an episode she needed to do a "floating head" style interview where a producer off-camera prompted her with questions to respond to, but those rarely lasted more than five minutes. Now, she and Rick would have a date which would presumably be between two and three hours long. Unlike during larger group events, she would not be able to sneak away for a break unless it was to use the bathroom. The cameras would be focused on the two of them for the entire evening and, though the entire interaction would not air in full, she had absolutely no way of knowing what edits would make the final cut, which was almost even more terrifying for soundbites could be manipulated in any number of ways.

Thinking about all the terrible scenarios that could take place caused Kate to feel more dread in her stomach than excitement by the time her makeup was complete, but it was too late to back out or change or mind at that point. She had to go forward with the date and she would do so as a reserved and guarded version of herself. Hopefully then the evening wouldn't end with too much regret or embarrassment.

* * *

"…and here we are." Castle led his stunningly gorgeous date to their private table in the small island restaurant using his hand against the small of her back. When he pulled out her chair and she flashed him a small smile, his heart fluttered at a speed akin to that of a hummingbird's. She sat and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears with one of her delicate fingers and he knew for certain he was the luckiest man in the world that night for he was finally— _finally_ —alone with Kate.

Well, if being surrounded by two camera men, a sound guy, the director, and two other crew members counted as being "alone".

Still, even if twelve more crew members showed up along with several reporters from American tabloids Castle would not have cared. From the moment Kate stepped out of the car in front of the restaurant and he saw how indescribably beautiful she looked with her sun-kissed skin and flirty dress he knew the evening would be magical. It simply _had_ to be with the way he felt about her. It was their destiny; he was sure about it.

Taking a seat on his side of the table, he picked up the single-page menu provided and skimmed through it quickly. Unsurprisingly the restaurant served mostly seafood dishes with one chicken dish as an alternative. He had no problem with the selection, but wanted to check in with her as he saw her gazing through the menu page as well.

"Hope this place is okay."

She nodded and her warm brown eyes sparkled when she gazed across the table at him. "Definitely. It's a cute place and there's nothing wrong with fresh seafood."

"Big seafood fan?"

She shrugged. "I don't know if I would say big. I eat it when it's available, though I don't think I'd necessarily go out of my way to get it. Honestly, when I'm hungry I just eat whatever's around—or closest."

He chuckled at her additional comment. "So you're not a picky eater then?"

"No, I'll eat anything. Well, _almost_ anything," she added pointedly.

He arched one eyebrow, now intrigued. "That sounds like it comes with a story."

"Not really. Just recently—only a few weeks ago, actually—my coworkers thought it would be funny try to and get everyone to eat these chocolate covered insects they found at this eclectic market. I had to draw the line there."

Though he could see himself trying such a candy, particularly if dared by some friends or coworkers, he passed no judgement on her for declining to participate. "Sounds like a very reasonable line to draw."

She put the menu down on the table and took a sip from the water glass in front of her. "I used to…well, I was never picky, but let's just say I used to be more selective when I was younger, but then after I graduated the academy and began working as a beat cop, doing shifts at all hours of the day, I learned to just eat from whatever restaurant or food cart was closest, so now there's very little I won't eat—not to say I don't have preferences."

He nodded. "Of course. I feel the same, but in my case it was just called being a teenage boy in New York City."

Her melodic laugh filled the air and his heart fluttered again. "I'm sure."

Their conversation took a break when a waiter arrived to take their orders. They both chose the catch of the day, which was served with grilled vegetables, and a glass of white wine. Their wine was delivered swiftly while the food would be a bit, so Castle continued the conversation with, "So, tell me Kate, have you always been a New Yorker?"

She placed her wine glass down and nodded. "Yep. You?"

"My whole life. We moved around a little bit when I was younger, but it was always temporary. My mother is an actress and for the most part she worked in the city or within commuting distance, but she also did some traveling shows and I would go with her. Still, I always thought of New York as home. Why don't you tell me about your family? Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope; only child."

"What do your parents do?"

"Ah…" She hesitated for several seconds, which intrigued him. When she did continue, it was with quick speech, "My father's a law professor, and my mother was a lawyer before she passed away."

"Passed away?" he echoed aloud before he could stop himself; he was just so surprised!

She nodded tersely. "Yes; when I was in college."

"Oh, I…I'm sorry to hear that," he said, though his tone was distant as his brain processed the change in her body language. She folded her arms in her lap, leaned away from him, and dropped her gaze to the empty table before her. Oh— _Oh!_

That was it! The reason for the deep sadness in her eyes. Her mother had died, but not in the, "She had a drawn-out illness, like cancer, so her death was terrible, but we had plenty of time to say goodbye," sort of way. No—his gut told him that Kate's mother's death was sudden—a car accident, perhaps? Whatever happened, it did so in a way that gave Kate a distinct lack of closure—and that weighed down her heart.

A sneeze drew Castle's attention away from his date. Looking to his left, he saw the man holding the boom mic casually wiping his face against the sleeve of his t-shirt, and Castle suddenly remembered just how public their date was. He'd been so entranced with Kate that he had momentarily forgotten about the cameras and crew, and now he realized that had been a mistake. Surely Kate would never want to discuss the source of her pain in such a public way; he never would have expected that of anyone. Thus, he needed to change the subject to something lighter and get the date back on track before he had Kate thinking he was insensitive or oblivious.

After taking a sip of wine, Castle formed a purposefully charming smile on his face and said, "Hey, listen, um, before we get too much further here, I just want to say that I'm really glad you accepted my invitation to dinner tonight."

She lifted her eyes to his face and seemed a little confused. "Why wouldn't I have?"

He shrugged one shoulder and quipped, "Well, I don't know. Maybe my excessive sweating during the soccer match today was a turn-off to you."

She let out a breathy laugh. "To be fair: I think we were all sweating excessively."

"Still," he stretched out his arm across the table and lay his hand with the palm facing up, "I'm really glad we're here."

She looked down at his hand tentatively, but then placed her fingers against his palm so he could curl his hand around hers. With their hands intertwined, she admitted, "I'm glad we're here, too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"So…" Kate began hesitantly as she and Rick stepped out of the restaurant after their meal. By that point, dusk had settled over them and the sky was reflecting pinkish hues. "Where are we going now?"

He grinned, reached back, and took her hand. "What if it's a surprise? C'mon."

Kate followed him through the narrow island streets intrigued as to what was next, but also frustrated. Gazing into Rick's eyes and feeling his warm hand in hers made it easy to forget that they were actually on a television show, and that their entire date was the orchestration of a production team, and not an idea originating from the man she was with. Of course when she looked straight ahead and saw the camera man, microphone operator, and now the lighting crew, she was wrenched back to reality. Her life, at that moment, was nothing more than a production.

Cameras aside, Kate did recognize that the dinner that she shared with Rick had been a good one. His public persona was kind, funny, and silly in all the right proportions. The meal had felt almost exactly like what she would have expected of spending time with her favorite author (except perhaps for the fact that they hardly spoke about his books at all). It also made her curious as to the differences between public-Richard Castle and private-Rick. Sadly, she assumed she would never get to experience the latter.

They walked for only five minutes before arriving in what seemed like a centrally located park where a man stood atop a large black crate. Several people stood in front of him, evidently watching him, but they were still too far away for Kate to interpret the scene. When she spotted the man on the crate pull a multi-colored scarf out of his pocket, it all clicked. Rick's invitation had mentioned something about a magical evening and thus he was taking her to see a street magician perform.

"They tell me this guy's pretty good," he said softly into her ear when they reached the edge of the performer's audience.

Kate gave Rick a quick smile then turned her attention towards the performer. The man appeared quite young, maybe not even out of his teens, and his first few tricks were disappointingly basic. Then, as the show progressed, he accomplished some very impressive slight-of-hand with a coin. He finished up the show by doing a card trick Kate found to be very impressive. When he began to pack up his crate after such a short time, she applauded along with the rest of the group, but also found herself disappointed and wishing for a longer performance.

"He was good, right?" Rick asked as he steered her towards a sidewalk that clearly led towards a beach.

"Very."

"I always love seeing guys like that. They may not be as polished as some of the professional magicians, but that's okay. They're hungrier and might take bigger risks, which really adds to the mystique of it all."

She gazed up at him with an arched brow. "Do any tricks yourself, Rick?"

He scrunched his nose. "Well, I learned some card tricks for research, but my hands are really too big and clumsy for that quick slight-of-hand stuff. I do love it though. How about you?"

"Always been a fan. Actually, my grandfather considered himself an amateur magician and we used to go to magic shops together on Saturdays whenever we hung out."

"Really?"

She smiled at how impressed he sounded. "Yeah. I have some great memories of him doing magic, or just hanging out together in one of his favorite shops. Actually, most of my memories of him involve magic…or baseball," she added with a wistful smile.

He stopped walking and turned to her with a very serious expression. "Mets or Yankees?"

"Mets."

He shut his eyes and notably took a breath. When he opened them again he squeezed her hand and said, "Okay, you just got a little bit hotter."

Kate laughed when they started to walk again as she had not been expecting that comment. Actually, she had half-expected him to announce himself as a Yankees fan and end their date immediately, but she was glad that was not the case.

"We should go sometime. To a Mets game, I mean. Once we're back in the city…"

She smiled and agreed with a nod. "I'd like that."

While taking in a game with Rick might have been the perfect way to experience what he was really like without cameras in front of them, she very much doubted such an outing would take place. If for some reason they did connect some time in the future and he invited her to a game, she certainly would not turn him down, but at the same time she anticipated the odds of that happening as quite astronomical. At best, such an event would be far in the future since presumably Rick intended to propose at the end of the _Looking for Love_ experience. As she understood it, a proposal was customary. Then again, she also recalled many times when such a relationship did not end up working out. That was to say: the couples rarely actually made it down the aisle, but maybe it would be different for Rick.

After a few more minutes of walking, she and Rick reached the end of the path on which they walked. From there, there was only sand leading out to the beach. She anticipated Rick suggesting that they watch the sun set from a position closer to the water, which she would not have been opposed to, but the invitation never came. Instead, Rick held her hand tightly and took two steps out onto the sand. She followed, curious, until he dipped his head and said close to her ear, "Do you trust me?"

"What?" she responded, not sure what he was getting at.

She watched as his eyes darted behind them and then he gazed back at her with a mysterious sparkle glistening in his azure eyes. "C'mon quick—in or out. Do you trust me?"

"Um, yes…," she said, though her tone made it clear she was not entirely committed. More than anything she was just confused. That confusion only grew in the next several moments.

Rick tugged on her hand so that they walked further out onto the beach. He spoke in a low tone. "Excellent. Now…we're just going to go for a casual stroll on this beach, but you should probably take off your shoes."

"Why?"

"Heels plus sand; you'll fall."

As her ankles were already wobbling, Kate understood this to be a valid point, so she leaned down and slipped off her heeled sandals, which she held in her left hand.

Once this was done, Rick snagged her right hand and gave it a firm tug. "Good now in…three…two…run!"

"What?!" she half screamed as he practically dragged her along with him.

"Run!" he laughed, still trying to move quickly with her stumbling behind him.

"Rick—what—oh my god!" she proclaimed, but for a reason she could never understand, she took off running with him down a white-sandy beach and never once looked back.

"Okay, okay—almost!" Castle panted as they ran down towards the water and then hugged the shoreline to continue away from the sand. Damn, running across sand was so much harder than he expected it to be! Then again, when was the last time he'd sprinted at all? Probably best not to think about that, but they were so close!

"Rick—I—ugh! This dress is really not for running!"

"Sorry, sorry. Are you okay?" He slowed his pace and glanced back at his date, who was struggling to adjust her drooping dress straps while also holding her shoes. He reached out and took the heels from her and dropped her hand, so she could make sure her undergarments were covered. Then, he ushered her forward at a brisk jogging pace. "C'mon—it should be just up ahead"

"What should be?"

"The cave."

"The—what!?"

He chuckled at her confused squawk, but he didn't stop until they'd reached the carved out area in the sea rocks. At low tide, they could walk across a small sandbar to reach the entrance and then hopefully they could do a little exploring—at least before the crew caught up with an ultimately chastised them.

Once they reached the edge of the sandbar, Rick spun around and pressed his index finger to his lips in a hushing gesture. He reached his hand in his back pocket, turned off the battery pack connected to his microphone, and then walked around behind Kate to do the same to the pack attached to the back of her dress.

After her mic was turned off, he said, "There, okay; now we're good. Come with me." He took two steps forward, realized she wasn't following, and turned back to see her looking endlessly perplexed. Her hair was wind tussled and her lipstick now worn off after the meal they shared, which made her look utterly adorable. He actually had to fight the urge to kiss her then and there, but he wanted a chance to explore the cave before the crew caught up with them.

"What's wrong?"

"We escaped the cameras, you turned off our mics…and now you're leading me into a cave."

"Scared?" he replied, half joking.

"I…Concerned," she stated, clearly serious.

He waived his hand dismissively. "Like you couldn't karate chop me if you wanted. C'mon—the guy at the restaurant told me about this while you were in the bathroom." He reached back for her hand and thankfully she took it. He led her to the entrance of the cave and then dropped her hand so he could use the small flashlight in his pocket to lead the path into the dim cave. The flashlight was also a generous gift from the waiter, though he did not intend to follow the young man's other suggestion to become intimate with Kate inside the cave; that seemed an unnecessary action (not to mention he was ninety-nine percent confident she'd turn him down…or punch him, which would ultimately be worse).

"Oh wow," Kate commented once they'd walked a few feet inside.

"Cool right?" he asked, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

"Ah yeah…except I kind of wish I could wear shoes…."

He frowned and looked down at the rocky floor. "Right…and the ones you have won't help. Well, here, step where I step." He continued to lead the way into the cave, purposefully stepping on sand-covered spots so Kate could follow. At one point, his light shone upon what looked like a perfect Mother of Pearl shell, which he immediately scooped up and proclaimed, "Neat!"

"Pretty," she agreed.

He smiled down at the shell for a moment before slipping it into his pocket. "Alexis will love this; she has a collection."

"Your daughter?"

"Yeah. Whenever I'm on a beach I always like to bring back a shell or two—if I find ones that aren't broken—and especially if I'm traveling out of the country; she says that makes her collection more eclectic."

"How old is she?"

He took a few steps further into the cave before saying, "She'll be fourteen later this year. I…" he sighed and stopped walking. "Sometimes it's hard for me to believe she's that old; that she's a teenager. She…her mother's not around much, so its just the two of us. The older she gets, I worry more and more that she won't want to hang out with her uncool dad for very much longer."

She gazed at him from beneath her brow-line and said, "Well you seem kind of cool to me."

"But you're not a thirteen-year-old girl."

"Touché."

Shrugging, he continued through the rocky space. "Anyway…I like to hold on to these little traditions we have while I can. Bringing her back a shell or a t-shirt I can do; bra shopping, not so much."

"Ah, yeah that would be a tough one."

He hummed. "Thank goodness my mother is around and involved for that sort of thing but…it's hard. I still like to do what's best for her and I'd like to think I know enough to step aside when its necessary. Feel like I'll be doing more and more of that soon."

He turned around and could see her admiring him from a few feet away, even in the dimly lit cave. "Sounds like you're a real good dad to me. Here."

He shined the light on her outstretched hand and saw a shell very similar to the one he'd just acquired. "Ooh that's a nice one. You want to keep it?"

She shrugged. "It's okay."

"No, you should. In memory of our—shit!" He cursed when he heard the distinct sound of voices coming closer. "Sounds like they found us." He hurried towards the cave exit and then waited patiently while Kate tip-toed her way behind him. He switched on her mic pack and then his own before emerging from the cave just as casually as though they'd been strolling along the sand all that time.

Now face-to-face with the director, he tried to smile, but his expression fell when the man snarled, "What was that!?"

Rick glanced from the director to the panting camera men and said casually, "What? You guys couldn't keep up?" He heard Kate chuckle behind him and fought the urge to grin wider.

The director folded his arms over his chest. "You turned your mics off."

Castle shrugged and glanced back to Kate. "No, we didn't—we must have lost reception in the cave." Without missing a beat, he reached back, plucked Kate's shoes from her grasp, and then reached out for her hand with his free one. "Kate would you like to walk along this beach to finish off this evening."

Clearly playing along with his charade (which he loved), she put her hand in his, and said with a bit of dramatic flair, "I'd love to, Rick; thanks."

Walking along the beach heading back towards town, Kate actually found herself wishing their running excursion had taken them further down the beach, for that would mean their trek back would take longer. She wasn't yet ready for the night to be over, and no one was more surprised about that then her. Thanks to Rick the evening had certainly taken an unexpected turn.

While sprinting across the sand barefoot while wearing a flouncy dress and unsupportive undergarments would not have been Kate's first choice for that evening's activities, it did allow her a glimpse at the real Rick. With their mic packs turned off—by his action, no less—there was no need for him to put up any pretenses or maintain a public persona for the camera. The man who collected a shell for his daughter and expressed concerns about being a good single parent to a teenage girl was real and, amazingly, still the same charming, funny man she had dinner with. True, she only experienced five minutes of that "real" time, but it was enough to make her wonder if Rick's television persona wasn't all that different from his actual one, and that…well, that changed things.

There had certainly been points during the meal that Kate forgot about the cameras and television crew. Rick would smile or tell a joke and she would smile back or laugh. They would lock eyes and then have what she was certain her best friend Lanie would classify as _a moment_. She had felt tingles in her belly or traveling up and down her spine just like the ones she felt in that moment when his hand squeezed hers just a little bit tighter.

"You know, it's funny," he began, slowing their walk to a very gradual pace. "I used to think that sand was just sand, but it's so different here. It's fine and white, almost like dust at times. I've never felt sand like this…or seen water this blue…"

"Yeah," she agreed with a pleasant sigh. "It's beautiful."

He stopped walking and tugged her a little bit closer by using their joined hands. "And so are you," he said just before dipping his chin and brushing his lips across hers.

Thought the kiss was delicate, Kate still felt a wave of electricity surge out from the center of her chest until it reached the tips of her fingers and the ends of her toes. Immediately forgetting about the cameras, she wrapped her left hand around his bicep, and tilted up her chin so she could kiss him again. Their lips entwined perfectly for several seconds before she dropped her heels to the ground, separating them. She gazed up at him for another moment, feeling almost lightheaded in the reflection of his dopey grin, and then he tugged on her hand and pulled her back up the beach without saying another word.

When they reached the sidewalk once more, Rick returned Kates shoes to her. She brushed the sand off her feet as best she could before putting on the heels and thanking him for his assistance. By that point, their two transportation vehicles were waiting for them several hundred feet away, which meant it was time for them to say goodnight. She glanced back over her shoulder, expecting the director to provide them instructions on how to end the night, but saw instead that the cameras had been lowered and the crew was cleaning up. Evidently, they would be using their kiss as the night's closing footage and Kate couldn't have been happier about it.

"Walk me to the car?" she said to Rick quietly. He bobbed his head and they walked along the street. When they reached the open door of the first SUV, Kate turned back, quickly checked to make sure the director wasn't paying attention to them, and then grabbed onto the open collar of Rick's white shirt. Using that as leverage, she dragged him in for a quick kiss, nipping lightly at his bottom lip as she pulled away. He wore a stunned expression, which had absolutely been her intent, so she merely winked at him before sliding into the backseat of the car.

"'night Rick."

"Ah…yeah—I mean: goodnight, Kate."

With that, the driver shut the back door of the car and Kate leaned back in her seat, covering her face with her hands. _Damn_. She'd just had to kiss again, didn't she? The thrill of kissing him without it being recorded had been too much for her to overcome, but she probably shouldn't have. That kiss was as good as the other, but it also probably made Rick think she was very interested in him and…well, she wasn't _not_ interested in him as a man. She was, however, _not_ interested in having her dating life filmed for the entertainment of others, which meant she had a very large problem—and would undoubtedly have to figure out a way to deal with it sooner rather than later, but for that moment she chose to sit back and enjoy the fact that she had a pretty incredible first date with Richard Castle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Castle walked to the front door of the pool house in which he stayed and opened it cautiously. He poked out his head and craned neck to scan his eyes across the entire pool deck and small grassy area that was the "back yard." Within thirty seconds he was able to determine there wasn't a camera man in sight, which made sense because their first official event that day would not be until one p.m., but he also had to make sure no other members of the crew were skulking about. Once he determined the space between him and the main house was free of anyone who might catch and scold him, he strolled out of the pool house with a noticeable spring in his step.

Approximately fifteen minutes earlier Castle had been sitting in the small pool house seating area leafing through a magazine about the island that had been left for him. His reading of an article about the real estate market was interrupted at that time by a chorus of female laughter. Gazing out the window he saw a large group of women moving from the main house to the stairs that led down to the beach. This sight combined with Castle's hollow-feeling stomach gave him an idea. The fruit, yogurt, and granola breakfast he'd eaten earlier had been unsatisfying, and the snacks inside his small refrigerator mostly consisted of fruit, but he was in search of something different for his pre-lunch snack and hoped the main house's kitchen was better stocked.

As he had yet to be inside the main house, Castle was unsure of its layout, and thus was left creeping along the back of the home, peeking in windows like a cat burglar until he found a door that looked like it led to a utility room and hoped that would closely connect to the kitchen. He strolled inside past the washer-dryer unit and hot water heater and then out into the main hall where he spotted the kitchen. His journey was then halted by the fact that a woman sat on a bar stool at the kitchen counter with a book open in front of her. In her hands she clutched a spoon and a cup of yogurt.

Castle tip-toed two steps forward to see if he could identify the woman before he walked in like a confident idiot only to have her throw him out. When he saw her brush some hair back from her face, he realized that the woman was Kate, his date from the prior evening, which was absolutely perfect. Now he had to proceed with his plan, for there was no way he wanted to deny himself another opportunity to interact with her without the watchful eyes of the crew—and their cameras.

In Castle's mind, his date with Kate had been the exact level of wonderful he'd hoped it would be. Spending time with her, laughing with her, and walking on the beach would have all been wonderful enough, but then their evening was topped off by that amazing kiss. The one they shared on the beach was nice, but the way she'd kissed him just before getting into the car…god, it had been so hard to walk away from her after that. She was amazing—so amazing that he wished he could simply end the show then and there. What was the point of continuing when he knew he'd found the woman he wanted to explore a future with?

Oh. Right. That pesky contract he signed. He had to finish out the show regardless of when he realized which woman would be the one who won his heart. That was…unfortunate, but he supposed that didn't mean he couldn't have as much fun with Kate as he could manage in the meantime.

Puffing out his chest, Castle strolled into the kitchen with as much casualty as he could muster. He walked right past the edge of the counter and over to the fridge. Only when he grabbed the handle did he let out a casual, "Hey."

From the corner of his eye, he caught Kate jump, slightly startled. Her jaw fell and she placed her cup of yogurt down on the counter. "Hi. Wha….what are you doing? You're not supposed to be in here!"

He let go of the fridge handle and rested both arms against the counter surface so his head was just about a foot away from hers. "You going to arrest me, detective?"

"No…"

He grinned before turning back to the fridge. "Good. Actually, I just came over here to raid your fridge. The contents of mine are rather boring and I was hoping—ah hah!" He proclaimed when he spotted a jar of pickles on a bottom shelf. He'd actually been hoping for something more substantial, but anything was better than more fruit. He snagged the jar and held it out to her offering, "Pickle?"

She scrunched her nose. "Doesn't really go with yogurt."

"Oh. Right." Shrugging his shoulders, he kicked the fridge door closed with his foot and then walked over to her side of the counter. Lowering his voice he said, "So, uh, while I have you here—last night was really great."

She smiled and if he was not mistaken a slightly pinkish hue crept into her cheeks. "It was."

"Best date I've had since I've been here."

She let out a breathy laugh and turned her gaze to the counter. "Well, yeah—you sent Kristi home."

He slid closer to her so that they were separated by mere inches. "That's not what I mean. I really, really like spending time with you, Kate."

A nervousness flitted through her gaze. She opened her mouth, but not much of a sound came out. "I…Oh! Someone's coming!" she hissed quickly when the sound of heels clicking against hardwood could clearly be heard approaching.

He groaned, disappointed their interaction was being cut short, but one minute was better than no minutes, so he scooped up his pickle jar, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to Kate's cheek before she could pull away or stop him. Leaning back, he winked at her and said, "See you later." Before hurrying back out through the utility room.

Yeah, he thought as he walked back towards the pool house, he and Kate were definitely going to have some fun in the coming weeks.

* * *

As Rick walked out of the kitchen and the skin of her cheek continued to tingle from his kiss, Kate let out a long slow breath. _Damn_ she was really in trouble, wasn't she?

She had started her journey in Miami not quite two weeks earlier thinking that this experience would simply be something to get to. She had not anticipated having anything more than a moderately okay time. When she realized how luxurious the trip would be, she reassessed her expectations and hoped to have a relatively decent time, but at no point did she believe she would develop any sort of feelings for the show's bachelor—not even after his identity was revealed. Now, though she still felt the urge to deny it, Kate was forced to confess that she was developing feelings for Rick. Whatever those feelings were, she was uncertain, but she definitely liked him and, much to her chagrin, very much looked forward to what their afternoon together (along with the other women) would have in store.

The prior night after returning from her date, Kate was required to chat with her fellow contestants about it. Of course, this was the absolute last thing she wanted to do, but she didn't have a choice. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that now that Kristi was gone, the group's overall hostility towards her had diminished greatly. She gave as minimal details as she could manage, only revealing that they kissed because someone directly asked and she couldn't lie. Since she wasn't as chatty as Kristi had been, the conversation thankfully ended quickly, though it did serve as a reminder that while she did enjoy her time with Rick and hoped to enjoy more time with him in the future, she was on a televised dating show and needed to remember that in all likelihood most of the moments she and Rick shared would be broadcast to millions of viewers, so while she could have fun, she still needed to keep her guard up at least a little bit.

"Oh, Kate—there you are."

Kate turned her head to see two of the producers enter the opposite side of the kitchen and she smiled inwardly with relief. Thank goodness Castle had made it out in time, for surely they would have both been scolded if they had been caught breaking the 'no interaction out of sight' rule. "Good morning," Kate said pleasantly before standing and walking her now-empty yogurt container over to the trash.

"Kate, could you please come with us? We have something we need to discuss."

When the female producer beckoned Kate forward, she felt her ears go hot. She suddenly had the feeling that she was back in high school and being summoned to the principal's office after sneaking that one cigarette in the girl's locker room. She hadn't thought about that moment in a long time, which momentarily threw her off, but as she continued to follow the producers out of the house and to the trailer they used as a makeshift office, she couldn't fathom why she might be in any sort of trouble, except— _oh_.

Had the driver from the night before seen her kiss with Rick and tattled? She didn't see why that would have been such a big deal. Yes, technically it had broken the off-camera interaction rule, but no one had said anything at the time. The director and crew must have seen she and Rick walk off towards the cars and no one protested. Besides, it wasn't like the kiss by the car was their first kiss. She was certain they had plenty of good footage of their beach kiss, so why would their goodnight one matter? Other than the fact that it explicitly broke the rules, of course…but that was such a technicality!

Kate walked into the office trailer read to argue her case, but once again she was thrown off by the grim expressions on the producer's face. Surely, if the kiss was an issue, she would look more annoyed than distraught.

"What's going on?" Kate asked when she took a seat in one of the small plastic chairs available.

The woman sat across from her and folded her hands in her lap. "Kate, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we've just been informed that your father was hospitalized overnight."

Panic immediately coursed through Kate's veins and she forgot all about the show and the rules. Her mouth now dry, she croaked, "Oh—oh god. What happened? Is he alright?"

"Apparently he was struck by a cab around two a.m."

"What?" She squeaked out. Though her heart raced, she clenched her gut and fought the tears now forming behind her eyes with every ounce of herself. Sucking in a deep breath, she channeled her compartmentalized cop training and asked, "What's his condition? Do you know the situation surrounding the accident?"

The producer shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but we're going to allow you to phone Roy Montgomery, your superior. He's the one that informed us of the accident."

Kate nodded slowly and took the information in. Since the contestants on the show were supposed to be sequestered from the outside world, they gave up their cell phones and were not permitted the use of any other phones or email. However, the show had established an emergency call line in case of such an incident. Kate's father had the number, and before she left she had also given the number to Captain Montgomery just in case.

The producer handed her a cell phone and explained how to make the international phone call before departing from the trailer to give Kate privacy. With trembling fingers, Kate dialed as instructed. Then, she stood and paced the width of the trailer while waiting for her captain to answer.

When she heard, "This is Captain Montgomery," on the other line she rushed out, "Captain? It's Beckett. How is he? What's going on?"

"He's okay, Kate," the smooth baritone of Montgomery told her, but her heart still raced, particularly when he added, "He has a broken leg and wrist. Lots of bruises, but no internal injuries."

Kate squeezed her eyes shut tightly and a tear dripped out of each. She spotted a box of tissues on a nearby desk, snagged one, and then asked, "What happened? Did the cabbie drive off? Were there witnesses? And why-"

"Kate." Her superior cut her off in a calm, even tone. "He—he was drunk."

The word hit her like an anvil to the gut. She reached out her free hand for the wall and then sank back against it as she rasped out, "What?"

"I'm so sorry Kate, but his BAC was well above the legal limit. The cab driver did stop and call 911. He said your father just stumbled out into the middle of the street between two parked cars. It was dark, he was wearing dark clothes, and the cabbie didn't see him until it was too late. He…from what I'm hearing, the driver will not be cited."

"But I…I don't understand." She sighed, shut her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. "He'd been doing so well."

Her father's fight with alcoholism had been nearly a decade-long battle, ever since her mother's death. From his initial spiral right after the funeral, he experienced a series of highs and lows. Sometimes, he'd be sober for months on end, then suddenly she'd find him collapsed on the kitchen floor of his apartment, his pants soaked with urine. Finally, about four years earlier, he'd entered rehab and sobered up for good. He seemed so committed and even experiences that she thought might knock him off the wagon hadn't seemed to faze him, so what had changed in the past two weeks?

"I know and I'm very sorry. I know you can't tell me about what's going on there, but I don't want you to worry. The boys and I will keep an eye on him until you get back."

Kate sniffled and felt a wave of gratitude wash over her for the work-family that could not have treated her better if they were blood relatives. "Thank you, Roy."

"Of course, Kate; we'll see you soon."

After their phone call ended, Kate took another minute to collect herself before walking out of the trailer and returning the cell phone to the producer who gave it to her.

"We do hope your father is alright," she said.

"Yeah."

"Ms. Beckett," the male producer began, stepping forward cautiously. "Because you are your father's only living immediate relative this event does classify as a family emergency, so if you would-"

"Yes," she jumped in before he had a chance to finish his offer. While her captain's offer was generous, she also knew her father was her responsibility, and she would never feel right about whatever care he received from others while she was hanging out on a beach in paradise filming a television show. "I need to go home."

The producer nodded without hesitation. "Okay. We'll make the flight arrangements for you right away."

"Thank you."

Without really thinking about the logistics of how quickly she could be flown back to America, Kate now believed she had a singular mission: packing and getting herself to the airport as quickly as possible. She raced back into the house, not even realizing that some of the other women had returned from the beach, and charged up the stairs to the room she was staying in. As they were planning to leave for a new destination the next day, she was already half packed, but she did need to collect her toiletries and the shoes she'd left lying about.

"Kate? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Kate looked up to see Mac and two other women now standing in the doorway of the bedroom. "Um, no," she managed, still furiously stuffing shoes and clothes into her large black suitcase. "My…my father's been in an accident. He's injured, and I need to go home."

"Oh god; I'm so sorry," Mac sighed out.

"Will he be okay?" another girl asked.

Kate pressed her lisp together tightly. From what Montgomery told her, his life was not in danger because of his injuries, and his bones would heal. But, with the resurgence of his alcoholism, everything in the situation felt completely out of her control. "I…I don't know yet."

"Well, I hope he's okay. Don't worry—we'll tell Rick. I mean, I'm sure someone will tell him what happened, but we'll tell him, too."

Kate stopped packing and clutched one of her sandals to her chest—the pair she'd worn the night before.

 _Rick_.

For the first time, the prospect of going home felt just a little bit sad to her. In all likelihood she would never see him again—never get to say a proper goodbye. She supposed that if she asked they might let—

No. What would be the point of it? He'd probably hug her and send her off with thoughtful wishes, but that wasn't what she needed; she needed to get home.

While the show had been an interesting experience, that's all it was and would ever be: an experience. Rick was never going to choose her in the end; she didn't even want him to. From what she heard from Lanie, shows like this generally ended in a proposal. A marriage proposal after five weeks? And that wasn't even five weeks of exclusive dating. It was five weeks of this mass dating madness! Becoming engaged during that time would have been preposterous and she would have hated to be put in such a position in front of a camera. It was bad enough she and Rick kissed on film (though the kiss was rather nice, so she supposed she didn't regret it _that_ much). No, her brief fantasy experience was over, and she needed to get back to reality.

"Um, yeah. Tell…tell Rick that I really enjoyed meeting him. I enjoyed meeting all of you," she added with a soft smile, "but now I have to go."

Kate finished throwing all her things in her suitcase, then carried the bag down stairs and out on to the front porch. She didn't care of she had to sit at the airport for a full day until her flight departed. She was done with _Looking for Love_ ; it was time to go home.

* * *

A/N: Uh oh :)

Thanks for reading & reviewing, as always!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

In her apartment that Friday night, Kate stood beside her kitchen table laying out two sets of plates, wine glasses, and cutlery. Finally, after being home three days things were finally feeling like they were getting back to normal. She helped her father get settled after he was released from the hospital earlier that day and would return to work for her first shift on Sunday. Then, she hoped within a few days she would be back in her regular routine and would hardly be thinking about her time on a variety of Caribbean islands….well, at least until the show began to air, but she had a few months for that.

Just after seven, she heard a knock at her apartment door signaling the arrival of her good friend, who had picked up their take-out food. She greeted Lanie with a warm hug and then helped her carry the bags into the kitchen.

"Girl, I am so sorry we couldn't get together sooner—things at work have just been crazy. New York really needs less dead bodies."

Kate chuckled. "But then you and I would be out of work. Seriously—don't worry about it. I've been plenty busy with unpacking, laundry, and dealing with my father…"

A sympathetic expression crossed Lanie's face. "How is he?"

Kate shook her head bitterly as she unloaded the take-out containers while Lanie uncorked the wine. "Insisting he doesn't have a problem and that he's got everything under control. I just…" She placed her hands at her hips and shook her head. Glancing over at her friend she asked sadly, "How'd we get back here, Lanie?"

Lanie passed her a glass of wine. "Did he tell you anything about what's been going on?"

"Only vague things. He was seeing a woman—I didn't know about it, but he was—she ended things about a month ago. Then he was feeling down, he had some conflict with a student over a grade and… he just kept saying he was sorry and it wouldn't happen again, but I…I just can't help but think if I hadn't gone away then-"

"Don't," Lanie cut her friend off sharply before she could blame herself aloud. "Don't even put that out there. This isn't your fault. Your father has a disease."

"I know that." Kate nodded. Truly, she did. Since it had taken so long for him to get sober the first time she had gone around and around with self-blame. Maybe if she hadn't gone to school so far away, maybe if she had come home sooner, maybe if she hadn't spent the semester in Kiev, maybe if she hadn't chosen such a stressful career path… It wasn't until she spoke with the family therapist at her father's rehab facility that she accepted that there was nothing she could have done to change what happened to him. Alcoholism was a disease and it was up to her father to control his own actions, ask for help when needed, and, most importantly, not blame others or let others take unnecessary blame.

"How are his injuries?" Lanie asked once they'd begun to eat.

"Broken left leg and left wrist… at least its not his dominant side, but he can't do much. He didn't know I was coming back, so my aunt already made arrangements to take him in. I took him out there to Long Island this afternoon. They have a bathroom on the first floor and he can sleep on the couch which isn't ideal but… he really needs to go back into rehab."

"Unfortunately, you can't make that decision for him."

"No, I can't." But, oh, how she wanted to. She wanted to cry and scream. Demand to know why five years of hell wasn't enough, but she couldn't. The situation was out of her control; her father had to come to that decision on his own.

"So…" Lanie poured herself a little more wine and leaned back in her seat. Turning to her friend with a rather sly expression she continued, "You wanna tell me about Richard Castle? I saw online he was the new bachelor on _Looking for Love_."

A breathy laugh escaped Kate's lips, though she was impressed Lanie had actually managed to wait a full eight minutes after arriving to begin asking about the show. "Ah yeah he…he's… it wasn't what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"To hate it—all of it. To not have any fun. And don't get me wrong, I don't ever want to do anything like that again but…"

"But…" Lanie led after she'd been silent over thirty seconds.

"We traveled so many different places—three countries, actually. Private jets, fancy food. It was hard not to be impressed by all that."

"And Rick?" Lanie asked, sliding a bit closer to Kate on her seat.

"Rick was…kind, sweet…and funny. We went on a date. Just a few days ago, actually," she added with no small amount of amazement. The night she and Rick spent on the beach seemed almost a lifetime before instead of only five days.

"You mean a date with just the two of you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it was…we had dinner, saw a magician. Then…then we ran across the beach to hide from the camera crew and ended up exploring a little cave."

Lanie cooed with excitement. "Did he kiss you?"

A giggle bubbled out of her chest when she confessed, "Yeah, we kissed. Twice actually. And he—he even sent my dad Mets tickets," she added with a disbelieving headshake. That one had really thrown her for a loop.

Lanie's jaw dropped a little. "You're kidding? How'd that happen?"

Kate leaned forward and rested her elbow at the edge of the table and then pressed her fist to her cheek. "On the drive to the airport, the producers told me they already informed Rick that I was leaving because of a family emergency. They said he was very concerned and asked for my full name so he could send well wishes, so they were asking for my permission to reveal my last name to him, which up until that point was hidden since I'm a cop and that was part of our deal for my safety," she explained to her friend.

Shaking her head, she continued. "I was so stressed and out of it, just wanting to get home at that point, I basically told them they could do whatever, that I didn't care. Evidently that meant they not only gave Rick my name but told him that it was my father who was hospitalized. By the time I got to the hospital, Dad had been messengered tickets from Richard Castle. He was positively baffled since he hadn't heard that Rick was this season's bachelor on _Looking for Love_ and was only vaguely aware I read his books. It was actually pretty funny but…" Her smile faded at the mental image of her father's bruised face and bandaged left side. "Well, it's over now and that's definitely for the best."

"Doesn't have to be over," Lanie said pointedly.

Kate rolled her eyes and tapped her fingernails against the wine goblet she held. "C'mon Lanie—what was the best that was going to come out of this? That I would make out with Richard Castle on TV for all of America to see? Which…actually, that did happen. But it was at dusk so hopefully they didn't see much," she added with a slight grimace.

"But what if your father hadn't been hurt? What if you finished out the show and Castle picked you?"

A bark of laughter escaped Kate's lips at the preposterous notion. "Picked me for what? His third wife? After knowing me for five weeks? I don't think so."

"You don't think he had feelings for you?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "Feelings? Sure, I guess. I guess on some level I had feelings for him while I was there, but it was momentary lust at best—nothing real. None of that was real. Expensive homes, private jets, rich food and wine. That's not reality. Even if my dad hadn't… Well, let's just say what happened was for the best," she concluded.

The few days of distance Kate had from the show had felt like coming up for air after a long swim underwater. In hindsight she chose to believe the time that she and Rick had off-camera both in the cave and in the kitchen the morning she left were very real and enjoyable. As such, if she remained on the show she imagined they would have had more such moments—more dates, more kisses, more fun. It wasn't hard to stretch her mind enough to imagine someone falling in love—or, rather, feel like they were falling in love—in such a scenario. There were no jobs and very little stress; it was all fun and games. That, she imagined, was also why virtually none of those relationships worked out after the show ended, because such an existence was not sustainable in reality. Had she stayed on the show any longer it would only have confused them both and probably, in the end, hurt them as well, since she highly doubted a future existed where a rich, successful author would be dating a gritty homicide cop.

"That part of my life is over now and I'm going to move on." With that conclusive statement, Kate picked up her dinner plate and carried it into the kitchen sink. A moment later, Lanie followed looking a bit tentative.

"You're not mad I made you sign up for the show, are you?"

She smiled at her friend and shook her head. "No. Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay," Lanie agreed. Then, she hugged her friend. "I'm glad you're back—and I really can't wait to watch all this on TV."

Kate laughed. "That makes one of us. Actually, no—I'm pretty sure my aunt is looking forward to it, too."

"Not your dad?"

She shrugged. "He said he was going to watch the first episode, because he wanted to see me on TV, but you know him—doubt he's watched more than five hours of TV so far this year. He'd never make it through eight episodes even if I was in all of them. Which, frankly, is just as well—he doesn't need to see me in a bikini making out with Rick."

Lanie's eyes widened. "Oooh is that how it happened?"

Kate laughed. "No—I was exaggerating. I was in a bikini and I did kiss Rick, but those were two separate incidences."

Despite this clarification, Lanie still looked giddy. "Girl—I am so excited to watch this!"

* * *

"Rick? We're ready to go."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, okay; I'm coming." Castle pulled himself away from the hotel room window that overlooked the Jamaican shoreline, scooped up his carry-on bag, and then followed one of the production assistants out of the hotel suite.

As beautiful as it was, Castle couldn't say that he had a great deal of fun during the Jamaican leg of their trip, nor did he except to have a lot of fun in their next destination: The Bahamas. Simply put, he'd lost a lot of interest in the show after Kate's departure. Yes, the women were still beautiful and some were interesting to talk to. The food was delicious and some of the activities even fun for a little while, but nothing seemed as interesting or exciting without Kate's smile.

When the producers had told him about Kate's family emergency, he had been immediately concerned. The last thing he wanted was for something terrible to happen in the life of someone he cared about—and Kate could certainly be classified as such a person. He'd asked the producers for more information, but for confidentiality reasons they could reveal no more to him, which almost felt more upsetting.

Castle completely understood why Kate chose to return home in the wake of upsetting news. In fact, he was glad, for he would not have wanted to have her there with I'm if she was distressed and felt she belong elsewhere—all for the sake of a television show. Despite this, the concept of never seeing her again unsettled him greatly. True, he knew that she lived in New York, was a police detective, and her name was Kate. Such facts did not make it impossible for him to find her again, but it would make it difficult without at least knowing her last name. So, he'd asked the producers to gain her permission to reveal more detailed information and was endlessly thrilled when she had agreed.

When he discovered that Kate Beckett's father had been hit by a cab on the streets of New York, he had immediately wanted to do something to lift the spirits of the older gentleman and his daughter. Though he was subject to the same no-outside-communication-allowed rule as the female contestants, he requested permission to draft an email to Gina, which he would absolutely allow the producers to review before it was sent. Thought it was slightly show related since it involved Kate, they did let him send it so long as they could include the fact that he sent a care packaging into the episode (thus making him seem more appealing—or so they told him). Castle didn't care at all about that, he only wanted to brighten the Becketts' day—if only a little bit.

Now that Kate's absence had really sunk in, Castle realized he faced a new, very real problem: how to proceed with the show. As the producers continually pointed out to him, the remaining women all equally good candidates. He couldn't say there was anything terribly wrong with any of them, but that also didn't mean there was anything right about them. That was to say: he didn't feel he had chemistry with any of them. Kate was the woman with whom he'd "clicked" immediately, and just because she had to leave the show did not mean his feelings for her evaporated. Quite the opposite, in fact, as he felt her absence heavily each time the group got together.

As he climbed into the car that would take him to the airport so he could fly along with the crew to Nassau (the women had already departed), Castle decided that he would simply have to channel more of the acting skills that had to be somewhere deep within him. He would fulfill his contract; he would finish filming the remainder of the show, but that did not mean he had to choose one of the women that remained.

At least…he didn't think he did, but that was why he'd already pulled up a copy of the contract on his phone; he would definitely know what path the next few days would take by the time they landed at yet another island in paradise.

* * *

 **A/N** : thanks so much for your response to the last chapter! Hope you continue to enjoy the story!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **-Three Months Later-**

"Hey Lanie," Kate Beckett called out as she pushed her way through the double doors of the morgue. She spotted her friend and colleague dressed in pink scrubs standing beside that morning's D.B., a white male in his forties who had been found in a mid-town alley with a slit throat. "Sorry I missed you at the scene."

"No problem. Espo told me you were wrapping up with another case. Full moon again, is it?"

Kate sighed as she pulled on a pair of blue latex gloves. "Sadly. I'd just like one lunar cycle to go by without the whole city going haywire…but I guess that's too much to ask."

Lanie hummed and observed her friend carefully. "So if you were busy does that mean you didn't catch last night's episode."

"Episode of what?" Kate asked distantly as she scanned her eyes over each of the victim's hands, looking for signs of a struggle.

"Of what! Of _Looking for Love_!"

The exasperated tone of her friend didn't faze Kate remotely. "I told you I'm not watching that. Did you check under his nails yet?"

"Yes and they were surprisingly clean. I cannot believe you're not watching."

Kate merely blinked at her. "Well, I'm not." In fact, were it not for Lanie's persistent reminders, she might have forgotten all about her brief stint on a reality TV show.

Well—that wasn't entirely true. Seeing as her coworkers found her fifteen minutes of fame positively _hilarious_ they liked to print out the promotion photos of her from the show and tack them up at various places around the precinct, so at least once a week she'd either find one on the murder board, by the coffee maker, or occasionally outright taped to her computer monitor. It was very, very frustrating.

Were it not for that good-natured ribbing, though, she probably would not have thought about her time in paradise at all. She stayed busy keeping the streets of New York safe and continually checking in on her father, who had completed his second (and hopefully final) stint in rehab just a few weeks earlier. On the rare occasion that she did have free time she spent it with Lanie, one of her other friends, or perhaps going out on a date where absolutely nothing was recorded on film. Sure, every now and then she would catch a glimpse of one of Rick's novels on her bookshelves and think about him, but she was also well aware that chapter of her life had come to a close and would never be revisited.

Lanie clicked her tongue with displeasure. "Girl, I cannot believe you—why wouldn't you want to watch? Aren't you afraid they'll edit the show together in a way that makes you come across terrible or crazy?"

Kate arched her eyebrow at Lanie. "Are they?"

"No."

"Then, it's fine; I trust your judgement."

Lanie groaned dramatically. "I cannot believe you wouldn't even want to see the episode with your solo date with Rick.

"Why would I want to watch it; I was there living it."

"But I'm sure you'd be interested to know that they completely edited out the part where you and Rick ran off down the beach together."

Kate leaned her hands against the edge of the exam table. She wouldn't say that she was _interested_ to hear that. Frankly, since Rick had turned off their microphones, she wasn't the least bit surprised they cut out before the episode aired, but she supposed she wasn't angry Lanie had told her. "Well…that was their decision, I suppose."

Lanie shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When she opened them again, she gave her friend an imploring look. "Can you please just pretend like you're a little bit interested—for me."

"Fine." Kate relented with a huff. "Did the kiss at least look…not embarrassing?" she asked, though she was honestly afraid to hear the answer.

Lanie smiled slyly. "It's interesting that you would ask that, because of course it did not look embarrassing—it looked hot! More importantly—you failed to tell me that you were the first woman Rick kissed! Kate! How could you leave that out?" she whined.

Kate shook her head as she was mildly confused. "What? Rick kissed Kristi and Brooklyn before me." While the camera could have missed Brooklyn's attack-kiss, she couldn't imagine that Kristi's kiss with Rick wasn't broadcast since it took place on the show's first one-on-one date.

"No," Lanie corrected, "they kissed him. You're the first person that _he_ wanted to kiss; I'm sure of it."

"Maybe they just edited it to look that way"

"But why would they do that when they knew you didn't finish out the show?" Lanie counter-argued.

"To…create drama? I don't know, Lanie, but these things are all about ratings, aren't they?"

"Sometimes."

"Well, whatever." Kate waved her gloved hand flippantly. "I'm just glad that the last episode I'm on has already aired; now I can get back to my normal life—for good. Speaking of, did you find COD yet?"

With a heavy sigh, Lanie turned back to the corpse in front of her. "Still looks like exsanguination, like I told Espo, but I won't know for sure until I open him up—and the bloodwork comes back."

"Okay, great. And let me know if his prints come up in the system, okay?"

"Will do."

"Great." Kate pulled off her exam gloves and then waved goodbye to her friend. There would be no more talk of silly television shows that day; she had a murder to solve.

* * *

Standing at the kitchen sink, absentmindedly rinsing off salad greens, Richard Castle's mind was preoccupied with the thoughts of a woman. She was a homicide detective with brown hair and mysterious eyes. She was dedicated, whip-smart, and, despite a tough exterior, had a kind, caring heart. Thoughts of her had consumed his mind for weeks—months, arguably—yet he didn't even know her name. It had to be strong and tough like…Paige?

No, that wasn't right.

The right character name would come to him; it always did. After all, Derrick Storm had started out as a Gregory, but that name never had the right punch to it. He would find the right name for his female detective, though he suspected it might not come until after he'd met up with her real-life inspiration once more.

Just as Castle organized the salad into a large bowl to place on the table, he heard the front door of the apartment open. He glanced up to see his daughter walk in wearing her school uniform, her red hair tied in a ponytail that swung side-to-side as she walked. He smiled, still happy to be home with her again even two months later. He had never been away from her for as long as he had while he filmed _Looking for Love_ and was anxious to never repeat such a distance again until she was in college—and maybe not even then! Though the show allowed him to call her weekly, their fifteen-minute check in calls were far from enough and by the final weeks of filming he longed to see her smiling face more than anything.

"Hey pumpkin; how was school? How was debate team practice?"

"Both were good," she told him as she shrugged off her backpack and wandered into the kitchen to check out what was cooking on the stove for dinner. "How'd writing go today?"

"Actually, pretty good."

Alexis's expression brightened. "Really? You wrote part of a chapter today?"

"Ah…no, not exactly, but I did a lot more outlining and sketching out potential scene ideas." He clarified. His daughter then gave him a look reminding of the one his ex-wife-slash-publisher gave him every time she asked for some sample chapters. Thankfully, Gina had been correct in saying that his appearance on _Looking for Love_ would spike book sales and thus he was given a relaxed deadline—for now.

"I can see you judging me, but you don't have to. Really, this is the best way to do things—get the bare bones down, then once I do a little bit of research I'm sure I can knock out the first few chapters pretty quickly."

"Quickly? That'd be a first," she replied, thought with an obvious smirk; he narrowed his eyes.

"Ha-ha daughter; you're hilarious. But, seriously—this is annoying me too, you know? I just want to…" He gestured out in front of him as though he was trying to grab something a foot away but couldn't quite reach. "I just want to get started, you know? But finally— _finally_ —I can see the light at the end of the tunnel."

To put it bluntly: he was frustrated; very frustrated. Ever since he returned home from the last exotic beach _Looking for Love_ filming location, Castle felt as though the pause button for his life was on permanently. Sure, he went through the motions day to day, but he couldn't really live or move forward—not until he spoke to her again. Stupid restrictive contract! But every day the light at the end of that tunnel grew brighter and he could make it—he had to make it.

Fifteen minutes later the duo sat down to dinner and after some light conversation, Alexis rested her fork against the edge of her plate and gazed at her father quite seriously. "Can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"How are you so sure? About Kate, I mean. You seem _so_ sure but watching last night's episode…" Alexis crinkled her brow and then gave a little shrug. "It didn't seem like you had any more fun with her than with the other women."

Castle nodded and placed his fork down as well to focus on their conversation. When he first told his daughter that he would be appearing on _Looking for Love_ , he had sat her down and they had a very long talk about what it would mean for them when the show ultimately aired. Of course, Alexis wanted to watch and he agreed but only under the condition that they would watch together so he could field any questions or correct anything he felt was misrepresented. They had a similar conversation just before the first episode aired and he pointed out that, though the show he was on was a "reality" one, it was still a show produced for entertainment and thus what they watched needed to be taken with a grain of salt, for it was not always fully representative of what actually transpired.

"Remember what we talked about after last week's episode and the 'magic' of TV editing? I told you that I didn't have a good time with Kristi at all, but they sure made it seem like I did. It appears that they toned down the fun that I had with Kate, I imagine so it would look like all the women were more or less on an even playing field. Besides, even if they didn't edit the show in a way that made it seem like something different than what took place, a TV show like that can never convey how we felt in that moment, experiencing those things."

She sighed. "I know that, but it's not like you were like Gran and you were acting in a play with a script. It was really you and really her, right?"

"Sure, but…I know you don't want to hear this, but you're probably a little young to understand right now. When you get old like me, its very easy to recognize something special when you experience it, because you've had dozens and dozens of experiences that weren't."

When it came down to it, he and Kate hadn't spent much time together, but those moments they did share had stayed with him. Over his lifetime, Castle had been on dates with dozens of different women—well over a hundred, he imagined. Some were terrible, some were fine, though unremarkable, some were great, but it was the rare few that had moments that took his breath away. Running across the beach with Kate had done that (and not just because of the physical exertion). Kissing Kate had done that. Every time he pictured her smile in his mind's eye he knew— _he knew_ —their story was far from over.

"So you can fall in love after just one date?"

Castle shrugged. "Anything is possible. You know what Gran always says…"

"She fell in love in an evening."

Castle nodded to the "G-rated" version of the night of his conception. "Exactly. Though I wouldn't say I'm in love with Kate. I…" He hesitated a moment to collect himself in preparation to describe how he felt. "I like her very much. I feel that we have a connection and I want to build upon that to form a relationship that might potentially lead to love."

"Assuming she doesn't have a boyfriend," Alexis said as she casually picked up her fork once more.

Castle's jaw dropped. "Why would you say that!?"

She shrugged. "That's what one of the girls at school said today."

"That Kate has a boyfriend?"

"No. She was guessing how many of the women on your show actually had boyfriends at home and were just using the show to advance their careers."

"Yikes!" he commented, a little taken aback. "That's a pretty cynical thirteen-year-old."

"She heard it from her mother."

Castle nodded as that made much more sense. "Ah…well, to the best of my knowledge none of those women had a boyfriend when we were on the show."

She gave him a small smile. "Just so you know: I hope Kate doesn't have a boyfriend either."

He smiled back. "Me too, pumpkin; me too."

* * *

 **A/N:** only 2 more updates (last chap + epilogue)

:)


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Hey Beckett, here are the photos you wanted."

Kate glanced up from her computer screen to see her colleague, Detective Kevin Ryan, place a folder on the corner of her desk. "Oh great; thanks." Now she only needed to finish filling out the form requesting the phone records of their latest victim and then she could start creating their latest "murder board" complete with photos of the victim and crime scene.

After clicking "submit" on the report, Kate pulled open her top desk draw in search of the correct markers to use on the whiteboard by her desk. What skittered to the front of the drawer along with a few stray paperclips was not a black or blue marker, but instead a perfectly shaped mother-of-pearl shell; the shell she'd taken from the beach cave during her date with Rick. Reaching into the drawer, Kate picked up the delicate object and brushed her thumb gently across the surface.

Immediately after returning to her bedroom after the date, Kate had put the shell into her luggage with the intent of wrapping it up in a tissue to transport it safely home at a later time. Then, she'd found out about her father's accident and forgotten about the shell completely until it showed up at the bottom of her purse weeks later under positively mysterious circumstances. The best she could figure was that the shell slipped its way into her makeup bag and then transferred to her purse weeks later when she had been running late and thrown the makeup bag into her purse instead of her gym bag for later use.

Whatever the case, a month earlier she had been sitting at her desk digging through her purse for an emery board to fix a broken nail when her fingers came in contact with the shell instead. She stared down at it with amazement, thought fondly of their interaction for a moment, and then placed the shell in her desk drawer so it wouldn't be broken only to promptly forget about it again. Now that the item had made yet another surprise reappearance, Kate placed it on top of her desk beside her keyboard. That way maybe— _maybe_ —she would remember to take it home and add it to the keepsake box she kept under her bed.

Early that morning she had received a text that Lanie sent her the night before demanding to know if she had watched the final episode of Rick's season of _Looking for Love_. Of course she had not and she responded as such. She, quite honestly, did not even care whom he had chosen (though she suspected Lanie would ultimately tell her). On the other hand, she was glad to know the show was finally done airing, which meant the ridicule from her coworkers would die a natural death and she could go back to living her life as it was before, save the occasional, "Hey remember when you were on that TV show," anecdote.

Despite the fact that she could have lived a very happy life without those fifteen minutes of fame, now that she had gained some distance Kate could safely say she was glad for the experience. She doubted she would have traveled to such beautiful places without the show—and if she had, it certainly would not have been as luxurious. She was glad for the opportunities the show provided, including in the interactions with her favorite author. She was pleased to find out he was a good man and looked forward to reading his next novel when it came out in a few weeks. Maybe one day they'd even run into each other again in the subway or maybe even during a Mets' game. If that day ever came, she would welcome it, but until then she would be satisfied with the memories of their brief time together.

Black marker now in hand, Kate walked over to the whiteboard and began to sketch out the details of their latest case. She clamped the marker between her teeth, reached for one of the photos, hung it, and then used the marker to label it underneath. She repeated this process with the next photo in the folder and then next until she heard Ryan say beside her, "Uh, Beckett?"

She turned towards him, curious about his uncertain tone. "What?" she asked, but Ryan's only response was to stare a bit wide-eyed at something behind her. When he pointed in the same direction, Kate spun around and felt her heart stutter to a stop in her chest. Her jaw dropped along with the marker in her hand. The sound of the object clattering against the tile floor didn't rouse her from her trance. In fact, almost nothing could have, since just a few feet from her stood Richard Castle holding a bouquet of red roses.

"Wha…I…oh." Upon finally noticing the black marker rolling on the floor by her feet, Kate scooped it up quickly and then continued to stare in disbelief at the man before her. What in the _hell_ was Richard Castle doing in her precinct? It made no sense at all!

Evidently picking up on her shock, he took a step forward and said, "Hello, Kate; I hope I'm not interrupting something important."

"I, um," she continued to stammer as she glanced at the partly filled out whiteboard and then back to him. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I wasn't allowed to contact you until today," he explained simply, then gave a playful shrug. "Stupid legal clauses, right? But all that's over now, so I came to see you. And bring you these."

"Um…thank you." She managed to step forward, take the roses in their vase, and place the vase at the very edge of her desk. Leaning against it mostly for fear that she might actually fall over, she dusted her fingers across her forehead and then said, "I, um, I'm still not sure why you're here?"

His brow furrowed. "You…did you watch the show at all?"

"No."

He nodded and gave a small smile. "I see. Then let me explain. By the time we got to the last episode, it was down to Holly and Mac. The producers helped me choose who they thought would test well with the audience; who would be the most entertaining. The problem was: I didn't want either of them, so the show ended with me standing alone atop a hill overlooking a beautiful inlet on St. Kitts. It's beautiful there, by the way; you should go if you ever have the chance."

He took a step closer, gave her a smile that made every inch of her skin tingle, and then continued. "The reason I was alone, the reason I couldn't choose either of them, is because I had already picked you—right from the start."

Kate tried to breathe, but her diaphragm fluttered betrayingly and she could feel the moisture forming behind her eyes, especially since the way he looked at her felt akin to idol worship. "But I…you…we only had one real date!" she managed finally, still feeling rather flustered under his gaze, which was a completely new sensation for her. Men never flustered her! But then again, she'd never before had a handsome, famous man show up at her office to deliver two dozen long-stemmed roses.

He gave her a cheeky grin. "I know. That's why I went with flowers over a ring. How's your father, by the way?"

She bobbed her head. "Good. Um. Ninety days sober last week."

His eyes widened briefly, but then eh relaxed his face and said, "Glad to hear it." He glanced around the area briefly and then asked, "Do you maybe want to take a walk? I know you're working, so we can keep it brief."

"Oh, um, well I," Kate began to gesture towards the murder board with the marker she held only to have it plucked from her grasp. She whipped her head around with surprise and found Ryan standing just a foot away, smirking. He turned to the writer and said, "Actually, she'd love to."

"Great!" Rick said. And then, before Kate could utter a single protesting word, he reached out for her hand and began to pull her towards the elevators.

* * *

Once out onto the noisy, bustling New York sidewalk, Castle led his detective companion several hundred feet down the way where they could chat along a quieter side of the precinct building. He smiled down at her, happy not only to be in her presence once again but thrilled at how utterly confounded she seemed by the sight of him. Though he didn't know her very well, he believed Kate prided herself as a person whose feathers didn't ruffle too easily, but in that moment, they were an absolute mess.

Sliding his hands down into his pockets, he said, "I get the sense that you're a little surprised to see me."

"More than a little," she admitted.

He tilted his head to the side and gazed at her curiously. "You really thought we'd never see each other again? Even when we live in the same city?"

"Along with eight million other people."

"Well, I suppose I could have left it up to chance, but then I decided to—as my mother put it—nudge fate along. How about we go to dinner tonight?"

She let out a breathy laugh then shook her head with clear disbelief. She gazed out onto the city streets for a moment then folded her arms across her chest and leaned her shoulder against the building. "We met on a TV show."

"So? Why does that matter? What if we met because of your work?"

Her eyes widened. "You mean because I was arresting you?"

He shook his head quickly. "Bad example. How about if we met on the subway? In a bar? Why does it matter how we met—assuming it wasn't while I was committing a felony?"

"It…it doesn't. I just…"

"You're surprised. Fair enough." He concluded. Then, after a beat went by he added. "So let's go to dinner and get to know each other a little bit better. It can be something casual; no pressure. Just good food, great wine, and conversation."

Her jaw opened a solid fifteen seconds before any noise came out. "Ah…o-okay."

Castle fought the urge to punch the air with joy. Not that he'd been truly afraid that she would shoot down his invitation (unless she had a boyfriend as Alexis has horrifyingly suggested), but it was a great relief to have the confirmation. "Excellent—here; let me get your number." He pulled out his phone, tapped the unlock code, pulled up a blank contact entry screen and then handed it to her.

She held it in her palm for a moment, staring down at is as though she'd never seen such a newfangled device before. Just as he was about to ask if she knew how to work an iPhone, she shook her head as though she'd been in a trance and then began to tap in her information. Once complete, she handed the phone back to him. He clicked on her contact name, opened a text message window and tapped out, _Hey, it's Rick Castle_ , and hit send. "Perfect; now you have my number too. Let me make some calls and see where I can get us a table tonight for…seven? Seven-thirty?" he offered.

"Either is fine."

"Great I'll text you the details when I have them. Now, I'll let you get back to clearing the streets of homicidal individuals." He gave her a smile, turned to leave, and then remembered something very critical he'd forgotten. Spinning back around, he said, "Oh… just one more thing." Without giving her a moment to react, Castle swooped in, tapped his right index finger beneath her chin to tilt her head up, and then sealed his lips over hers in a delicate kiss. When he felt the tingles spread down the back of his neck and into his belly, he pulled back with a hum.

"Mm, yeah; I was definitely right about that."

Clearly flustered once again, Kate stammered out, "Wha—wait. Right about what?!"

"That we're going to be extraordinary." Then, he stepped away from her with a bit more spring than he'd had before. "I'll see you tonight, Kate," he said before turning and walking down the sidewalk, ready to continue on with the first day of the rest of his life.

* * *

 **A/N: epilogue will be up thursday!**


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 **Former Bachelor Prepares to Wed**

 _Notable author Richard Castle is probably hoping the third time's the charm as he prepares to wed fiancée Kate Beckett next month. The two, pictured above outside their home in New York, met in an unusual and perhaps inspiring way three years ago when Castle appeared on the tenth season of_ Looking for Love _. Beckett was one of his twelve potential matches and the two began the show with obvious chemistry. Unfortunately, Beckett was forced to leave the show early due to a family emergency, but it seems these two love birds have found their way back to one another after all. Since then Castle has written a novel featuring a NYPD detective as the title character, presumably using his future bride as inspiration. When asked recently about his thoughts on meeting his fiancée on the show, Castle replied, "Things happen for a reason and I personally think there was no better way to meet the love of my life." Best of luck to the happy couple!_

Grumbling slightly beneath her breath, Kate Beckett stalked from the kitchen, where she had been reading the paper while enjoying her Saturday morning coffee, to the office, where her fiancé sat at his computer checking email. Without even waiting for him to look up from the computer monitor she spat out, "You know I'm going to kill you, right?"

Presumably since the writer heard this threat-but-not weekly, he gazed up at her without concern, but curiosity. "Why now?"

She walked forward and slammed the paper down on the empty space on his desk. Stabbing her finger directly at the small photo of them she proclaimed, "Because of this! You gave a statement to Page Six."

"What? No, I didn't." Now slightly flustered, Rick picked up the paper and skimmed through the short paragraph beneath the photo. Then, he groaned. "Oh, no I remember that." He shook his head and dropped the newsprint back down to his desk. "There was just some guy on the street firing questions at me. I knew he was some sort of reporter, but I did not know he worked at Page Six."

Slightly baffled still, Kate held out her hands to the sides, "So naturally you gave a statement?"

He blinked. "You have a problem with me calling you the love of my life?"

Now she took over the role as the flustered one while stammering, "Wha—no… I just don't like being in Page Six!"

He gave her a patient smile as he stood and walked around to her side of his desk. Putting a hand on each of her shoulders, he said pointedly, "You're just mad we're forever going to be the couple that met on a tv dating show."

She bobbed her head. "Also, that."

As far as her everyday life went, Kate did not like to think about the few weeks she spent in the Caribbean having nearly every moment of her life filmed for the entertainment of others. Yes, she was grateful for the show as it allowed her to meet the man she intended to marry, but that was as far as she wanted to think about it. She didn't want to think about the footage of her eating, wearing a bikini, or, perhaps worst of all, kissing Richard Castle for the very first time.

The first few weeks they spent together had been an absolute whirlwind not to mention an utter detachment from reality. Thus, when after the show's finale aired and Rick showed up to ask her on a date, Kate had immediately been wary and insisted they remain only friends until she believed they knew each other—their real selves—a little better. Of course, Rick had all but won her over with just that first meal—but she didn't let him know that and even refused to acknowledge it herself for several months until she finally allowed herself to be fully happy with him. Since then, their lives together had only gotten better.

Kate loved Rick and she couldn't wait to begin their lives together as a married couple, but she also didn't want that life dictated by the past. If the two of them met at a coffee shop the press would never have mentioned it more than once or twice, so how did meeting on a reality dating show even matter? Logically, she knew that it sold papers and simply added to public intrigue—but that didn't mean she had to like it, particularly since it would feel like the "scarlet letter" branding them for eternity.

Stroking his fingers along the sides of her arms, Rick wiggled his brow and said, "What if I promise to really, really make it up to you on the honeymoon?"

As he had been known to get himself in the doghouse more frequently than either would have preferred, Kate was well aware of just how good her fiancé was at making amends with her. In fact, just the thought had some tingles settling in her lower belly, but one clear issue remained. "But the honeymoon is still five weeks away…"

A grin spread across his face. "Oh, so now? I can make it up to you now." With that, he bent over and braced her stomach against his shoulder so he could pick her up and carry her into the bedroom. She squealed and gave his backside a playful smack, but had absolutely no complains about where they were going—no complaints at all.

* * *

 **A/n:** thank you all so much for your support for this story - I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it. Special thanks to everyone who prompted this!

Up next is: And Then I Found You - a Caskett AU

:)


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